The volleyball team’s season ended at Bowdoin on Friday night when the fifth-seeded Firedogs fell to No. 4 Trinity 3-1 in the NESCAC quarterfinals.
In the regular-season matchup of these two teams, Trinity blanked Amherst 3-0, so this weekend’s 3-1 loss was an improvement for the Firedogs.
The team suffered a big setback in having to play without setter Callie Neilson ’13, who was hurt with a concussion during practice last week.
The Firedogs closed out their regular season this week with three victories, sweeping Smith and Hamilton and earning a close 3-2 win over Williams. The captains are happy with the team’s progress thus far, but Cristy Meier ’12 doesn’t think they’ve reached their full potential yet. KC Kanoff ’12 agrees: “We have been playing really well together these last few weeks, and it still feels like the best is yet to come.” The Firedogs are currently 20-6 (6-4 NESCAC).
The Firedogs finished the Hall of Fame Invitational 2-1, defeating MIT and Brandeis before being blanked by Wellesley, leaving their record at 17-6 (4-4 NESCAC). Kristin Keeno ’13 was named to the All-Tournament Team, after her dominant role on the Amherst defense, talling 63 digs in the first match.
After a loss to Tufts dropped the volleyball team to 1-3 in conference play, the Firedogs ripped off three straight wins en route to a 4-1 stretch that brought the team to 15-5 overall and .500 in the NESCAC. The Firedogs first reached .500 with impressive wins over Conn. College and Colby, and the team quickly bounced back from a loss to Bowdoin by shutting out Bates.
The volleyball team came back from a 2-1 deficit to finish the weekend on a high note Sunday, defeating Keene State 3-2 at Middlebury. In Saturday’s action, however, the Firedogs fell to a strong Middlebury team 3-0.
With Sunday’s win — their second over Keene this year — the team improved to 10-3 overall.
Say what you will about the volleyball team, but it certainly know how to make things dramatic.
The Firedogs saved their best for last this weekend, storming back from a 2-0 deficit to stun Coast Guard, in five sets (13-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-8) and finish the 2011 Amherst Classic on a high note. A day earlier, the ladies jumped ahead early en route to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-22) shutout of Brandeis.
Playing in just their second home game of the season against Brandeis, Amherst treated the crowd to a relatively comfortable victory.
The volleyball team’s games this season are not for the faint of heart.
The cardiac kids continued their hot start to the season last week, defeating Emerson and Wesleyan before falling to Trinity and then rebounding against Johnson & Wales to bring their record to 6-2 (NESCAC 1-1).
The Firedogs squeaked out their six sets against Emerson and Wesleyan by a combined 12 points before getting blanked, 3-0, by Trinity and then trouncing the Wildcats.
