"Winning the tournament was really good for our confidence as a team," said co-captain defensive specialist Laura Golden '07. "The three teams we played this weekend weren't the best competition out there so we'll get a better look at our skill level with Keene State on Wednesday and the NESCAC Tournament this weekend."
Winning their first tournament, the Firedogs enter the season at full force.
"This was just the beginning of a very promising season," said outside hitter Jaclyn DeMais '08. "This first tournament gave us the confidence necessary to go into our future matches with positive energy and the strong desire to win."
"The team felt good after the tournament," said Quinn. "Being the first tournament of the season, we obviously have things to work on, but it was great for us to see where we are in relation to last season and to other teams in the area."
In addition to the team's stellar performance, serveral players earned invidual honors. Demais was the tournament MVP, a well deserved award shown through her team-high nine kills in the final match against University of New England. Kristin Quinn '07 and Sarah Heller '09 also won honors at the tournament. Quinn also nabbed NESCAC Player of the Week honors with her 3.11 kills per game and 0.460 hitting percentage.
"Jaclyn Demais, Kristin Quinn and Sara Heller all won honors at the tournament this weekend," said Laura Golden '07. "We're proud of how well they played and they definitely deserved the recognititon. Our [first-year] Bethany Belisle did a great job as libero, along with Laura Golden and Julie Berkeley on defense. Our offense was really intimidating, made up of Jac Demais, Kristin Quinn, Hannah Wirth, Alison Munzer, Whitney Kouvaris and Claire Holton-Basaldua."
While the team is composed of many outstanding players, one of the Firedog's strongest attributes is their ability to play as a team.
"It's great for us to have individual success early in the season, but more important than the individual accolades is the way our team chemistry is evolving," said Quinn. "The goal is to get better individually and as a team every time we step out on the court."
The tournament opened with the 'Dogs' competing against hosting Roger Williams University. Many players were responsible for Amherst's 30-17, 30-18, 30-14 victory-Quinn and DeMais had 12 and 11 kills, respectively, Whitney Kouvaris '08 posted six kills, and fellow sophomores Hannah Wirth and Alison Munzer posted five and four kills, respectively. Heller was a force with 32 assists.
"The first match against Roger Williams was the highlight of the tournament," said DeMais. "It felt really good to start off in sync. The fact that we can communicate so well in our first match and all share the same desire to play our best was a really great feeling for the team."
The second match against Rivier started off with a close 30-28, but the team pulled out a complete victory, finishing the last two matches 30-18 and 30-17. Heller excelled again with 39 assists, and Kouvaris led the sqaud with 13 kills.
The last matchup against University of New England was harder than expected for the Firedogs.
"University of New England came as a surprise," said DeMais. "We weren't going into the game with high expectations and we were surprised by their aggressive defense. It took us a few points to turn up our intensity."
However, the 'Dogs still dominated 30-10, 30-19, 30-14. DeMais led the team with nine kills and Quinn, Munzer and Claire Holton-Basaldua '09 all posted six kills apiece. Heller was essential again with 31 assists, ending the tournament with 102 in total.
While the team is comprised of outstanding individual players, the real strength came from the 'Dogs' abillity to play together.
"We came out really strong for our first tournament. Typically, first matches are a little chaotic but we played some great volleyball right from the start," said DeMais. "It can be attributed to two main things-one being our overall attitude. We were just so pumped and ready to play. We got on the court fired up and didn't consider anything besides dominating the other team. We also came out strong because of great chemistry and unity that most teams don't have until weeks into their season. We only have one rookie, Bethany, who has adapted so well to the team and has needed such little time to adjust and find herself in the core of our program. So while other teams have to struggle fitting new players on the court, we basically started the season with all that in place."
While some may speculate that the team's youth may hurt the team because of a relative lack of experience, the 'Dogs are convinced that their two seniors are capable of leading the young team.
"It is a young team, said Golden. "The two senior captains are doing a great job leading the team, and the younger players are definitely stepping up and showing a lot of maturity. Our one freshman Bethany is also doing a good job jumping right into the season as a starter."
The returning team has an undeniable camaraderie that has boosted the team's morale and abilities.
"We really didn't lose the core of our team and because of this, our chemistry has been great since the first practice," said Heller. "It has been awesome coming back with even more intensity and talent than last year."
"We've needed a lot less time to adjust and all feel comfortable with each other on the court," said DeMais. "There's a pretty solid feeling of trust for one another, like I know that if I am facing a strong block I have even stronger coverage from my teammates."
Belisle has worked her way into the Firedogs and has already become an integral part of the team."We have a really good core of seniors and juniors, and the underclassmen are doing a great job of filling holes," said Quinn. "Even though we are not senior-heavy, we have a good amount of experience as nine of 10 players contributed last year, and freshman Bethany Belisle has already worked her way into the mix."
Coming off three consecutive victories and a tournament crown, the Firedogs look poised for greatness. But they are also looking forward to competing against more talented teams.
"We have some things to work on but we're confident that we'll have a great season and do well in NESCAC," said Golden. "The tournament this weekend psyched us up for the season and showed us a couple things we still need to work on. Because we have such a small team, we're really focusing on conditioning and weight lifting so that we'll be stronger and faster than we've ever been before. Also, we won't have as many people to sub in as we've had in the past, so it's on our shoulders to be in the best shape that we can be."
But the team is looking forward to the rest of the season.
"Winning the tournament is definitely a step in the right direction, but we have much bigger goals for our year," said Quinn.