The Beta Epsilon Cardinals’ volleyball team stayed undefeated Friday night, defeating the Tri Epsilon Pirates 25-23 and 25-20.

Despite losing 10 players to graduation and the intercollegiate soccer and basketball teams, the Cardinals entered the game undefeated. “My expectation [for the team] was to start fresh and get a team together that was going to work well,” junior Taylor Gordon said of the Cardinals’ new look.

The Pirates, however, also boasted an undefeated record, and both teams knew this would be a difficult match.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first set, but the Pirates pegged them back to 4-4 before falling behind again at 9-6. The Pirates cut the lead to 11-9 before another point and a kill by Cardinal Abbie Heusinger made it 13-9.

A key block from Kamri Payne kept the Pirates close, but the Cardinals pulled away to win the first set 25-13.

The second set started out close with the game tied at 2-2 then 4-4. An ace by Pirate Norma Chavarria put her team ahead 6-4. The Pirates could not maintain their advantage, however, allowing the Cardinals to take a two-point lead.

A kill for Payne and an ace serve closed the gap to one, but a kill by Gordon pushed the Cardinals’ lead back to two.

The Pirates rallied to take three out of the next four points and tie the game at 14-14. After both teams traded several points, a long volley was won by the Cardinals, giving them the 18-16 advantage.

A Pirates’ kill, then another block from Payne followed by an ace put the Pirates in the lead 19-18. The Cardinals recovered though, and two more kills by Gordon propelled them to a 25-20 victory.

“[The win] helped get our morale up,” Gordon said.

She said she hopes team chemistry will improve as the season progresses, as they need to work on trusting each other and communicating well on the court.