The Bowdoin Orient

November 10, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 9

Volleyball hosts NCAA tournament

by Maia-Christina Becker Lee, STAFF WRITER

   While most of us were catching some extra sleep over fall break, the Bowdoin volleyball team was doing quite the opposite. On Friday, October 27 they headed to Bates to play in the Maine Volleyball Championships. With an 8-20 record overall, they were seeded fifth out of eleven teams. Rival schools Bates and Colby were seeded first and second, respectively, in the tournament, followed by Maine-Machias and UNE.
    The Polar Bears were definitely optimistic going into the tournament. The previous weekend they posted a 3-0 victory over NESCAC rival Hamilton. "Last weekend against Hamilton, everyone was on the same page," said Coach Lynn Ruddy. "They were finally playing as one."
    It also helped that Jessica Reuben '03 leads the team in kills with 159 followed by Jamie Bennet's '01 (101). She is also first in blocks with 74. Sophomore Rebecca Geehr is third in kills with 98 and fifth in digs.
    After winning against Hamilton, the bears were excited to face off against the other teams at the Championships. Though they did not improve their seed, as Coach Ruddy would have liked, they did hold their fifth place ranking. Their first match was against UNE and they started off with an impressive 15-8 win. However, UNE pulled the old switcheroo and defeated Bowdoin in the next three games.
    All was not lost, for Bowdoin had a very impressive victory over St. Joseph's, a team they have defeated several times during the season. Rebecca Geehr '03 had ten kills in that game with Lindsay Davis '04 adding eight and Jamie Bennett '01 adding six. Senior Shanna Mitchell also helped the bears with 28 assists. In the end they took the win in three matches, scoring 15-11, 15-6, and 15-8.
    When the Polar Bears took on the Maine-Presque Owls, the results were much the same as their match against St. Joseph's. An impressive 15-8, 15-7, and 15-1 set gave them the win. Sophomore Jessica Reuben led the way in this match with eleven kills and two solo blocks.
    To complete their exiting season, the volleyball team got a chance to celebrate last weekend when the NESCAC tournament was held here at Bowdoin on Friday and Saturday.
    It occupied both Morrell and Sargent gyms, starting at 3:00 on Friday. Bowdoin began the tournament by playing Tufts, the number six seed. Unfortunately, the bears lost the game (Tufts went on to lose to Amherst in the next round).
    Four of the top eight teams from the New England Small College Athletic Conference were there to compete: Middlebury, the second seed, Williams (8), Amherst (3), and Bates (4) all invaded Smith Union last weekend to play here at Bowdoin, who was seeded eleventh going into the tournament.
    The final champion of the tournament was Amherst, who took its second consecutive title and trip to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament.
    Though Bowdoin did not win the title of champion, they did leave the tournament with an impressive win over the Connecticut College Camels. This boosted their ranking to 10th place.
    The scores of that game were 15-13, 11-15, 15-13, and finally 15-8 to take the win. "I was so glad that we won that game against Conn. College during the NESCAC championships," said Becca Geehr '03. "Being here at Bowdoin was so exiting, so many fans were there to cheer us on. It was a great end to the season!"