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The Bates volleyball team finished the 2002 season with a 24-12 record, the fifth straight season in which they won two-thirds of their matches. The Bobcats reached the semifinals of the competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament for the fourth season in a row, defeating Wesleyan, 3-2, and took the league's top seed, Williams College, to five games, losing 3-2. If Bates can return to the conference finals in 2003, the Bobcats stand a great chance of reaching the NCAA tournament. The NESCAC has produced an NCAA at-large team for the past two-out-of-three years, including the Bobcats' run to the Sweet 16 as an at-large team in 2000.
Bates only lost one player to graduation and coach Jen Bowman has plenty of talent and experience to strive for a conference title.
 Co-captain Liz Wanless ‘04 (Belleville, Ill.), an outside hitter, has led the team in kills in each of the past three seasons, finishing either first or second in the NESCAC in kills per game in each season. An All-NESCAC and All-New England performer, Wanless was named the 2002-03 Bates female athlete-of-the-year for her performance on the volleyball court and for the track and field team. Olivia Zurek ’05 (Arlington, Mass.), an outside hitter, was second on the team with a .278 hitting percentage and 2.74 kills per game.
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