Coming off a 6-4 NESCAC season and a fifth place NESCAC finish, the women's volleyball team set their sights on winning the NESCAC championship in 2004.
The team got off to a perfect start on the path to this goal as they defeated all three of their NESCAC opponents 3-0 this past weekend at home.
"We took care of business," coach Cora Thompson said. "We did not drop games. The priority was not just to win, but to win with authority."
The Jumbos did just that, as they won every single game, only allowing their opponent to reach more than 19 points once. That occurred in the Jumbos' 30-23 victory in the final game of the first match on Saturday against the Trinity Bantams.
The Jumbos did find themselves in a close game in the opening game of the final match of the weekend against the Wesleyan Cardinals. At one point in this opening game, the score was knotted at 14-14.
From then on, however, the Jumbos ran away with the match, producing a 16-4 run to take the victory. After that 14-14 tie, the Jumbos outscored the Cardinals 76 to 25, allowing nine and 12 points in the last two games of the match.
Senior co-captains Emily Macy and Allison Sauer recorded 12 and 11 kills respectively in the match. Freshman setter Megan Tunstill added 40 assists.
The Jumbos started their weekend by handily defeating the Connecticut College Camels 3-0 on Friday night. Junior Courtney Evans recorded six of the team's 13 aces to go along with her three solo blocks, seven block assists and five kills. Sophomore Kelli Harrison added 12 kills and freshman Stephanie Viola led the defense with 15 digs.
The Jumbos found themselves tied with the Camels in the third and final game of the match with a score of 10-10. At this point, the Jumbos rallied for a 20-3 run, putting the match out of reach.
The next day, the team went on to defeat the Bantams in three straight, 30-14, 30-19 and 30-23. The Jumbos employed a balanced offensive attack as Macy, Sauer, junior April Gerr and Harrison each earned at least six kills.
Evans continued her hot serving with four aces to go along with her three solo blocks and three assists.
The Jumbos came out of the weekend very satisfied with their perfect NESCAC record.
"It's definitely a big deal because the NESCAC matches are what really count; the first seed hosts the NESCAC tournament, which is very significant," Sauer said. "Coming into our next weekend, we're definitely more confident at 3-0 than if we had lost a game."
Although it was not a NESCAC game, the team was excited to beat MIT 3-1 last Wednesday in Cambridge. According to Thompson, the team was confident that they could beat MIT, but it was just a matter of execution.
"We played so well [against MIT]," she said. "We are a very talented team, but we need to prove that. We need to prove that every day. We need to prove that we are a team to be reckoned with."
Evans recorded 13 kills and was aided by 10 kills each from Harrison and Sauer in the match. The Jumbos were successful at the net defensively as they recorded 10 solo blocks and 28 assists.
With their current five-game win streak, the Jumbos feel that they are becoming more comfortable with each other on the court.
"I thought our communication was great and improved as the weekend went on," Evans said. "[Our communication] really helped us to beat Wesleyan."
Thompson emphasized verbal communication as the key to playing together.
"We say that when we talk, our feet listen," Thompson said. "One of the most important things to have out there is that kind of running commentary."
The Jumbos will try to extend their winning streak against Gordon College at 7 p.m. tonight at Cousens Gym. Although this is not a conference game, the team takes every opponent seriously.
"We try to come into every game viewing our opponents as a tough match, so that we play at the top of our game," Evans said.
