October 25, 2012
Though by mid-October, Hamilton Volleyball had racked up wins against schools like D’Youville, York College and SUNYIT, the team knew it would take the ferocity and aggression of a wild cat to come out on top at the Cougar Classic last weekend. With an overall record of 8-14-0 by Oct. 13, the team entered the competition, hosted by Kean University in Union, New Jersey, with high hopes to add several more wins to their record. They did not disappoint.
Friday night, the Conts competed against the U.S. Marine Academy team in a rigorous game that ended in their favor. All of the team members worked hard to dominate the game, and by the end of three sets, they had achieved their goal with scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-21. Notably, junior Brenna Corrigan, who is currently ranked tenth in the NESCAC with 2.78 kills per set, contributed to the win with thirteen kills, nine digs and two service aces. Emma Lonadier ’15 had twenty-two assists and three aces. Anna Brown ’15 served three aces and headed the defensive end with sixteen digs. This came as no surprise, seeing as she is currently ranked second in the NESCAC with an average of 4.70 digs per set.
The Continentals rose early the next morning for the second leg of the competition against the Kean Cougars. While this game proved a bit more challenging than the previous one, the Continentals still managed to come out on top with a five-set victory. Over the course of game, many players had highlight performances. Corrigan’s nineteen kills and twenty digs proved to be a career high. Lonadier contributed fourty-six assists, the highest amount in her career so far. Brown once again headed the defense with a season-high twenty-eight digs. Most impressively, the Continentals as a whole had sixty-six kills throughout the game, which is the highest record since the seventy-one they had during a game against Skidmore College in Oct. 2007.
This positive momentum carried into the final game of the weekend against Baptist Bible on Saturday afternoon. With scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-20, the Continentals ended the competition with their third consecutive win of the weekend. First-year Blaire Frett, currently ranked fourth in the conference in blocks per set, contributed six kills and four blocks in the game. Lonadier and Brown once again stuck to their strong suits and shined on the court; the former assisted twenty-four times and the latter successfully dove for nineteen digs.
The team came out of the competition very pleased with their performance. In regard to how this set of games factored into the season so far, Frett said, “winning the tournament against these challenging opponents really made our hard work during the season pay off.” Lonadier added that dominating the tournament required concentration and commitment from all the players. “Everyone played an important role that weekend, and it was truly a team effort.”
The Continentals head out on the road again this weekend for their final two matches of the season. They will play Conn. College, currently ranked 7-2-0 in the Conference, on Friday and Wesleyan, ranked 1-8-0, on Saturday. Though these last two matches against NESCAC teams will be challenging ones, motivation and determination from last weekend’s victories will no doubt contribute to an exciting set of matches.