October 24, 2013
The SUNY IT Wildcats had not lost in twenty-four matches, countless sets and almost three months. Then the Continentals came to town. On Oct. 15, Hamilton travelled down the road to Marcy, NY to take on the formidable Wildcats, in what looked to be one of their most challenging matches of the season.
Facing a team with the longest winning streak in all conferences of the NCAA, most casual observers would think that the Continentals would not have a chance. But the tenacity and drive of Hamilton’s volleyball team came through as it dominated the last three sets of the game to grab a solid road victory against SUNY IT.
Led by junior Emma Lonadier’s 15 kills, 12 digs and three service aces, the Continentals took control of the match from the second set straight through to the end. Although they dropped the first set, they came back to win the next three 25-23, 25-23 and 25-22, not giving the Wildcats a chance to gain their footing again in the match.
Head Coach Erin Glaser said, “The SUNY IT game was a great win for our team. Our team has been working incredibly hard, and it was great to see all that hard work pay off with a solid win.” Playing in the NESCAC, one of the nation’s strongest conferences across the board, has both challenged the team throughout the season and allowed them to go into the game against SUNY IT with confidence and poise.
The Continentals have faced a particularly challenging schedule this year, as eight of the 12 NESCAC schools have posted winning records overall. Coach Glaser noted that while statistically there may be some clear leaders on the team, it is entirely a team effort on every point. “The great thing about this team is that everyone contributes and has an important role to play,” she said.
Within this team, Captain Sarah Pfund ’14 has had a solid showing as setter, despite spraining her wrist earlier in the season. While in the back row, Anna Brown ’15 and Emily Rosen ’15 have anchored the defensive effort. Brown recently got her 1,000th dig and is on pace to break the school’s all-time dig record.
In other matches over fall break, the Continental’s fell to Tufts and Connecticut College. Highlights from these matches included Pfund’s 30 assists and eight digs, as well as Ivanka Temnycky ’17, Jessica Weston ’17 and Courtney Somerville ’16 each collecting eight kills. This was just one shy of
Temnycky’s season high. Currently, first-year Jessica Weston leads the team with 127 kills, while Brown tops the list with 24 service aces.
Looking ahead to their last matches of the season, Hamilton will take on Bates (10-14, 2-6 NESCAC) and second-place Bowdoin (18-4, 7-1 NESCAC). Although each match will be challenging, Coach Glaser says, “I one-hundred percent believe that we can end this season with two solid wins at home.”
She noted that these matches will come down to composure and mental toughness more than anything else. Last season, Hamilton defeated Bates solidly with a 3-1 win in Lewiston. Their previous success on the road against the Bobcats should give the Continentals confidence going into this Friday’s match. With home court advantage, and the energy of their fans, Hamilton will look to repeat their performance from 2012, and build off of their win against SUNY IT.
Coming up for the Continentals, they will take on the Bates Bobcats on Friday, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. in their Senior Night match. And for their Family Weekend game, they will face the Bowdoin Polar Bears in their final match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2:30 p.m. The matches will be played in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
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