With four season wins and only one loss, the women's volleyball team is back with a bang this fall, rebounding from their rocky 2007 season.
With the team's home court in Morrell Gym under construction, the Farley Field House courts could be the trick to this season's success. On Wednesday, the Polar Bears (4-1) cruised to a 3-0 sweep over the University of New England (1-6) in a non-conference match hosted at Farley.
But the new location was hardly the only ingredient for victory. The UNE match witnessed a team-high 10 kills from Kristin Hanczor '12. Hanczor built off of an already strong offensive and defensive base, led by Jenna Diggs '10 with 22 assists and Anna Noucas '11 with 13 digs. The final set scores of 25-10, 25-22, and 25-12 marked Bowdoin's sixth-straight volleyball win over of the UNE Nor'easters.
"Hanczor has proven herself as an essential attacker in our game," Diggs said.
But as a young, essential player, Hanczor does not stand alone. For the second season in a row, the members of the volleyball team are remarkably young. The team consists of five first-years, four sophomores, five juniors, and no seniors.
"The five new first-years all really contribute the team and are really enthusiastic about the season," Skye Lawrence '10 said.
These new players include first years Hanczor as well as Gina Lonati, Jillian Berkman, Ellen Rogoz, and Lucy Evans.
Rogoz attributed the team's early success to teamwork.
"[We have] strong players in every single position; we play so well together," she said.
On Sunday against Swarthmore (1-5) at Farley, the team exemplified this strong play. After a tight 20-25 loss in the first set, the Polar Bears came back with solid 25-16, 25-16, and 25-17 scores to finish off the match. Hanczor and Diggs were again effective: Hanczor had a team-high 21 kills and Diggs had 43 assists and 26 digs. Stephanie Drumright '11 contributed an additional 13 kills.
These first two out-of-conference triumphs over Swarthmore and UNE built off of the successful pre-season Endicott Invitational, hosted by Endicott College on September 5 and 6.
"[We] all got a chance to work out the beginning-of-season jitters and really figure out what we need to focus on in practice," Lawrence said.
Beginning-of-the-season jitters, however, did not stand in the way of Bowdoin's first two Endicott matches against Keene State and Salve Regina.
The Polar Bears opened the tournament on that Friday by downing Keene 3-1 with game scores of 25-14, 25-20, 22-25, and 25-23. In their next match on Saturday they quickly rode to a similar victory against Salve Regina, sweeping them 25-14, 25-19, and 25-17, the two victories secured a position in the final match against the Endicott Gulls.
Though Bowdoin lost the championship game to claim an overall second place at the Invitational, it was not for lack of effort. The four sets, 20-25, 26-24, 25-21, and 25-22 against Endicott were close and included impressive statistics from Hanczor, Diggs, and Drumright. Drumright added two blocks, while All-Tournament Recipients Hanczor and Diggs contributed a respective 14 kills and 32 assists.
"[We're] off to a great start this season with a 4-1 record," Diggs said. "So far, we've played teams with similar skills and abilities to our own, and these matches have prepared us for tough competition in the near future."
That horizon includes bouts with Maine rivals. The CBB Tournament will be held this Saturday in Farley. Bowdoin opens with at 11 a.m. match against Bates, followed by a 4 p.m. afternoon match against Colby.
Lonati said she expects "the energy in Brunswick to be really intense," and is excited to play in front of an enthusiastic home audience.