The Firedogs suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend at the Wesleyan Invitational Tournament. The host Cardinals defeated them in five games on Friday night, but Amherst bounced back on Saturday defeating Trinity College 3-0 and SUNY Old Westbury 3-0. The Firedogs currently sit at second place in the NESCAC, behind Wesleyan, and have an overall record of 13-1.
Amherst dropped the first game of its match against Wesleyan, but rebounded to win the second game 30-25. The Firedogs carried their momentum into game three, winning by a solid 10 points and taking the lead in the match. But they could not hold off the opposing Cardinals in games four and five, losing 30-20 and 15-9 respectively. The Firedogs didn't come out with their usual spirit at the beginning of the match and could not quite pull together at the end, giving Wesleyan the advantage.
"[Wesleyan] had a good defense and was a generally good team," said outside hitter Claire Holton-Basaldua '09. "We weren't as consistent as we are used to being and our pace was off. We definitely have the capability to beat them."
The team amassed a total of 97 defensive digs in the match, led by rookie defensive specialist Rachel Yorke, who had 25. Tri-captain outside hitter Jaclyn DeMais '08 continued to run the offense with 22 kills, helped by junior setter Sara Heller, who chalked up 45 assists.
Amherst started off Saturday ready to erase the memory of the previous night's match. The team jumped on Trinity in the first game of their match, winning 30-27. Though the Bantams crept back into the game midway through, the Firedogs snuffed the opposing rally and came away with the win. The Firedogs never gave the Bantams a chance to get into the match as they swept through game two 30-20 and game three 30-26.
Once again, Yorke set the tone for the defense with 19 digs while defensive specialists sophomore Bethany Belisle and senior tri-captain Julie Berkley each chipped in with 14 of their own. Tri-captain outside hitter Whitney Kouvaris '08 helped out on both offense and defense, grabbing two solo blocks and seven kills on the match.
"We bounced back really well [after the loss]," said Holton-Basaldua. "We had a great game versus Trinity. The team's morale was really high and we treated the loss as a learning experience."
In their final match of the tournament, the Firedogs turned out their most impressive performance of the season, outscoring Old Westbury 90-40. The match allowed the first-years to exercise their skills and give the veterans some rest. Middle hitter Laura Hyman '11 totaled nine kills and fellow rookie Jackie Berkley had six, as the offense devastated the opposition. Setter Katherine Jordan '11 racked up the assists at setter, with a match total of 29, while Julie Berkley and Yorke combined for 30 digs.
Despite the highs and lows of the weekend, the Firedogs view it as an overall success. The team was able to put the first loss of the season in the rearview mirror almost immediately, rebounding with the two shutout victories on Saturday, one against the top team in the NESCAC. And, perhaps most importantly, the loss brought the Jeffs back to earth, removing the at-times oppresive pressure of going undefeated and allowing them to focus on their overall level of play.
"In some ways being undefeated leaves a weight on our shoulders," said Holton-Basaldua. "We have all these teams gunning for us. However, the pressure wasn't the cause of our loss."
DeMais and Julie Berkley both nabbed tournament honors as they were named to the All-Tournament team. DeMais finished the tournament with 36 kills, 28 digs and three solo blocks in two matches while Berkley totaled 11 service aces and 41 digs through three matches.
The Firedogs return home to play Smith College on Thursday and will have the chance to improve their NESCAC record this weekend as they travel to Tufts and Bates for two conference matches.