Amherst defeated Keene State handily in their opening game of the week by scores of 30-14, 30-25 and 30-20. The Firedogs jumped out early, never trailed and were led offensively by outside hitter Jess Allen '04, who had 15 kills and a strong 42-assist performance by setter Annie Hoeksma '05. Outside hitter and co-captain Erin Dittus '03 solidified the offense, tallying 10 kills in the match. Freshman outside hitter Kate Raddock '06 had eight kills and middle hitter Sara Bruggeman '06 assisted defensively with four blocks, while Co-captain Missy Mordy '03 and Irene Lee '03 helped out on defense with 13 digs each.
The match at Keene State proved an excellent warm-up for conference play, as the Firedogs traveled to Conn College on Friday for a quad match. Amherst was again perfect, not dropping a game.
First up for Amherst on Friday evening was Trinity. The Bantams proved no match for the Firedogs, as the Jeffs rolled 30-20, 30-13 and 30-22. Hoeksma's play again keyed Amherst's success with a match-high 28 assists and four kills. Trinity's record fell to 2-3.
Revenge was in order on Saturday as Amherst took on 2001 NESCAC runner-up Wesleyan. The Cardinals defeated the Firedogs twice in 2001, but this time, Amherst steam-rolled over Wesleyan 3-0 (30-28, 30-16 and 30-22). Raddock notched seven kills and five digs.
Amherst showed no sign of fatigue later on in the day as they extended Conn's winless season (0-5). Lauren Wong '04 played a great game, recording four aces and two blocks.
Amherst stands atop the NESCAC as the only team undefeated in both league and non-league play. Only Colby College shares an unmarred record in conference play.
The 'Dogs are confident they will continue to play well and hope to win the NESCAC and host post season play. But the Jeffs are not taking it easy. "We don't take any team for granted," said Allen. All the NESCAC schools are gunning for us. We must come to play no matter who is on the other side of the net," said Allen.