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BY GENEVRA PITTMAN

In print | Published September 9, 2004

The Garnet volleyball team opened its season last weekend at the Moravian Greyhound Premiere Invitational, a challenging first test for the women. Playing four games in two days, the team finished 1-3, including a dominant win over St. Mary’s and losses against Muhlenberg,

Moravian and York.

In its first match of the tournament against regionally-ranked

Moravian, the Garnet was blanked 3-0 (29-31, 14-30, 29-31).

“We just didn’t find our groove,” coach Harleigh Leach said. Despite playing close first and third games, the team struggled in the second and wasn’t able to recover.

Next, the Garnet faced St. Mary’s and reversed the score of their previous match, playing much more consistently and shutting out the Seahawks 30-28, 30-28, 30-19.

On Saturday, Swarth-more opened up a two-game lead on Muhlenberg but ultimately fell 3-2 (30-22, 30-19, 26-30, 20-30, 8-15).

“We had it in the first two games,” Leach said of the Muhlenberg match, but after that the team was not finishing points and was “a step slow on defense.”

The tired squad finished the weekend against York, another top regional team, and fell 3-1 (23-30, 30-26, 17-30, 24-30). Despite the loss, Leach was not disappointed with the team’s play against such a strong opponent. “We did some good things,” she said. “We played smarter as we were tired.”

On a team with only two seniors, the tournament also served to get some of the younger players, especially the two freshmen who started, more experience. Katie Gold ’08 and Karen Berk ’08 both bring size and athleticism to the team, and Leach expects them to continue to improve throughout the season and become great contributors.

Patrice Berry ’06 came through to lead the team in digs with a high of 23 against York, and Erica George ’07 led the team in kills, putting down 19 against Muhlenberg.

Co-captain Natalie Dunphy ‘05 was happy with the level of competition and the team’s play at the tournament. “I think we’d all rather play a strong team than a weak team,” Dunphy said. “I thought [the tournament] went really well for us. We’re playing better as a team than I expected this early on.”

Erica Newton ‘05 agreed with Dunphy’s assessment. “I’m really impressed with our team, because we’ve got some really awesome freshmen,” Newton said. “It looks like we can really come together as a team.”

This weekend, the Garnet will travel to the Muhlenberg Buttermaker Tournament, where Leach foresees a strong performance by her squad. “I expect us to do much better,” Leach said. “I think we have a potential to win this tournament if all the elements come together.” Following the tournament, the team will play Franklin and Marshall in its first home game Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

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