The Firedogs were the picture of perfection this weekend, going undefeated in their NESCAC openers against Colby College and Bates College to improve to 5-1 (2-0 NESCAC). After strong play away from home, the Firedogs finally got to show their stuff to Amherst fans on Tuesday, sweeping non-conference opponent Johnson and Wales University.in their home opener, 3-0..
Opening up the 2009 NESCAC season with a 3-1 victory over Colby, 25-8, 25-23, 25-12, 25-16, the team play the Firedogs had emphasized during preseason was on full display. Dual trios of players tallied double-digits in kills and digs. Outside hitter K.C. Kanoff ’12 again led the team’s offense with 16 kills, followed by classmate Cristy Meier with 14, and middle-hitter Laura Hyman ’11 with 10. Rookie Emily Waterhouse made a strong showing as well in her first NESCAC match with seven kills. Quarterbacking the offense once again, setter Kate Jordan ’11 racked up 40 assists.
Defensively, the Firedogs were led by tri-captain Bethany Belisle with 17 digs, followed by Erin Camp ’11 with 15. Not to be outdone by her classmate Waterhouse, rookie Kristin Keeno showed she was a force to be reckoned with, finishing with 10 digs.
The Firedogs faced a much tougher challenge from host Bates, but the Firedogs outlasted the Bobcats to earn a perfect weekend and took the match 3-1. Bates took first blood from the Firedogs, winning the first game 22-25, but Amherst fought back hard against a relentless Bates. The second game battled back and forth as the score climbed, with neither team able to get that second point for victory before the Firedogs finally broke Bates to take the second game 31-29.
The second game became a turning point, as the Firedogs took the next two matches with much greater ease, 25-19 and 25-13, to take the win. Familiar names again topped the Firedogs’ stats leaderboard. Jordan surpassed her excellent play of the night before with 48 assists. Kanoff tallied 14 kills, including two service aces; Waterhouse had 12 kills and four blocks, while Hyman added 11 kills of her own. Tri-captain libero Rachel Yorke ’11 led the back row with 11 digs.
The two wins were a great confidence builder for the team, according to Kanoff.
“This past weekend has given us a total confidence boost,” said Kanoff. “Both Bates and Colby had solid teams so it was definitely good prep for us for this coming season. We did a good job of adjusting to what they were doing on their side, which is something that we’ll definitely need this season.”
The Firedogs extended their winning streak to four and opened up at home with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-13) win against Johnson and Wales. Amherst came out strong, leading by as many as 11 before the Wildcats came surging back. Hyman and Belisle then came to the rescue, with Hyman getting back-to-back kills before Belisle finished off the game with a service ace.
The second set and third sets were a change from the first. Both were hard fought from the beginning, before the Firedogs pulled away. In both sets, Kanoff ended the set with a decisive kill. With four consecutive victories under their belt, the Firedogs kick off the Amherst Classic Friday against Brandeis University.