Amherst started its season off well with a 3-0 sweep of Framingham State College on Sept. 10. The 'Dogs then played Westfield State and Western New England Colleges the next day, sweeping both 3-0 before beating Plymouth State University 3-2. These four games started the 'Dogs' record off at 4-0, and marked the second year in a row that Amherst won the WNEC Invitational Tournament. Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Quinn was awarded Tournament MVP honors for her 57-kill, 19-block performance.
The 'Dogs traveled to Tufts University a week later for their first NESCAC matches of the season. Amherst faced Trinity College on Friday night and trounced the Bantams 3-0, for the 'Dogs' fifth sweep of the season. Amherst then faced Wesleyan University in a much tougher match the next day but pulled through for the 3-2 win before sweeping Connecticut College, 3-0. Hoeksma led Amherst through the weekend with a combined 109 assists, 15 kills and five blocks. The three NESCAC games also marked the emergence of first-year outside hitter Jaclyn DeMais, who posted 15 kills, eight digs and four aces in the game against Wesleyan and a combined 30 kills and 18 digs over the entire weekend.
The next weekend marked Amherst's first home games and first loss of the season. Going 3-1 on the weekend, the Firedogs edged out Middlebury College, 3-2, but fell 3-2 to Pomona-Pitzer College later in the day. Though the 'Dogs were no longer undefeated, the win against Middlebury helped to bolster their confidence for important games to come.
On Oct. 1, Amherst beat host Wesleyan at the Wesleyan Invitational to open the tournament before beating Smith and Trinity Colleges the next day. These three wins improved Amherst's record to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
"Neither match on Saturday came easily for us. We worked hard for the wins and fought until the very end," said Quinn. Both Quinn and Hoeksma were awarded all-tournament honors for their effort. This duo spearheaded the Jeffs all season long and would be rewarded for it, as Quinn received First Team All-NESCAC honors and Hoeksma made Second Team All-NESCAC at season's end.
At NESCAC host Colby College on Oct. 8, the 'Dogs beat Bowdoin College, 3-0. The next day the 'Dogs swept Bates College, 3-0. However, the game against the host White Mules provided more competition for the 'Dogs, who managed to pull through with a 3-2 win to remain undefeated in the conference. Quinn, last year's NESCAC and New England Women's Volleyball Association Rookie of the Year, was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her superb 42-kill and 11-block performance in the tournament.
The 'Dogs suffered their first NESCAC loss to the Tufts Jumbos at home the following weekend. After going up 2-0, the Firedogs dropped the last three games to lose the match.
As Amherst moved into the last part of its schedule, the team started to falter against tougher competition and had a harder time producing the easy wins of earlier in the season.
The Firedogs started the weekend of Oct. 22 off with a strong 3-0 win over Brandeis University at home in the opener of the Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament but the next two games were not as easy. Amherst traveled to nearby Smith to play Williams and Springfield Colleges the next day. The 'Dogs fell 3-0 to the rival Ephs in the first match of the season in which they were unable to win a single game. After the discouraging start to the day, Amherst came back against Springfield and won the first game, but lost steam and fell 3-1. The weekend's results brought the 'Dogs' record to 20-5 overall. As a result of her combined 38 kills, 18 blocks, three service aces and .589 hitting percentage, Quinn was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks.
On Oct. 29, the 'Dogs traveled to Middlebury for the final NESCAC competition of the regular season. Easily sweeping the host Panthers 3-0, the 'Dogs moved into their second match of the year against Williams the next day. This time, the 'Dogs were able to get two games off the Ephs, a feat senior Annie Hoeksma had not experienced since her freshman year as a Firedog. Unfortunately, the 'Dogs fell 15-9 in the final game, losing 3-2 to their archrivals.
The close game riled up the 'Dogs and the team easily swept Hamilton College later that day, 3-0, leaving Amherst with a record of 22-6 overall and 8-2 in the conference going into the postseason NESCAC tournament.
The Firedogs entered the NESCAC Tournament as the number-three seed. Amherst faced Bates on Nov. 5 in the quarterfinals. An easy 3-0 sweep propelled the 'Dogs into a semifinal date with a Tufts squad to whom they had lost in a very close match earlier in the season.
Disappointingly, the Firedogs' season ended there, as a close 3-2 loss finished their season with a 23-7 record and an 8-2 NESCAC mark.
Although the 'Dogs did not go as far as they had hoped, they finished third in the NESCAC, and took strides against teams they had not been able to compete against previously.
"This has been an amazing final season for me, taking two games off of Williams for the first time since I was a freshman, and I could not have asked for a better group of girls to be playing with," said Hoeksma.
Although the team will lose Hoeksma and senior co-captain outside hitter Nikki Davidson, it returns many youthful players who have made huge additions to the team this year, including DeMais, Quinn and first-year libero Julie Berkley. The team will also return junior outside hitters Sara Bruggeman and Kate Raddock, as well as sophomore defensive setter Mikela Yarawamai and sophomore outside hitter Laura Golden.