Last Friday, the women's volleyball team was ranked fourth in the Division III Volleyball Regional Poll, boasting a 6-1 record. But after a tumultuous weekend trip to the Amherst Classic, the Jumbos' ranking has dropped, and the squad is now 8-4.
Tufts came to Amherst in the championship bracket as a top-four team, but left disappointed, winning only one out of four matches. Starting on Friday, the squad lost a tough match, 2-3 against Wesleyan, but was able to rally and defeat Plymouth State (3-0).
Saturday was a different story. The Jumbos fell to MIT and Amherst - their stiffest competition of the year - losing both competitions in three sets.
"We had opportunities to play well throughout the weekend, and we didn't at all," coach Kris Talon said. "In all four games, we would do well in the beginning and then we would let them get in and go on a run, and we wouldn't be able to catch them."
The tournament started with Wesleyan, who beat Tufts in both meetings last year. The two teams battled evenly throughout the first four matches (21-30, 30-25, 22-30, 30-22), but the Jumbos slipped in the final game, losing it (10-15) and the match. The duo of Emily Macy and co-captain Jessica Stewart were strong with 28 kills combined, but could not overshadow the team's 24 attacking errors. Tufts' serving was adequate - 12 serving aces, accompanied by a dismal 12 service errors.
"We were two good teams," Talon said. "There was absolutely no reason we should have lost. We choked. We had a huge lead in game four, ten points, and we let them creep in. Game five, we were ahead 6-1 and we lost."
"It was a very tight match," Macy said. "A couple errors came by and we lost the match. Next time we meet will be for the conference, we should step up and win the game."
The non-conference Plymouth Panthers could not put up the same kind of fight against Tufts, falling in three sets (30-17, 30-15, 30-18). Highlighting the match were Stewart's four service aces and sophomore setter Lindsey Moses' seven digs.
"Plymouth State was an average team," Talon said. "They couldn't pass, and we controlled the ball better. We just beat them because we were better than they were."
MIT, Saturday's first foe, has been a major Tufts competitor for years, as it defeated Tufts twice last season and is ranked second in Division III. The Engineers proved their worth, taking the match against Tufts in straight games (30-20, 30-19, 30-28). Freshman Emily Macy again topped Tufts' charts with another good outing (11 kills and 14 digs) and co-captain Megan Pitcavage played outstanding defense (ten digs).
However, that was not enough to overcome the team's poor play. The Brown and Blue combined for 14 attacking errors and eight service errors. The mistakes were even more glaring at the end of game three, as the Jumbos threw away a 27-25 lead.
Now 1-2 in the tournament and facing an Amherst team that beat them earlier in the season, the Jumbos were looking for some revenge. The revenge factor could not overcome a lack of focus, as they team lost its fourth, fifth, and sixth games in a row (30-23, 30-28, 30-14). The trio of sophomore Amy Cronin, Stewart, and Macy combining for 31 of the teams 41 kills led the offense, while Stewart's presence was also seen in the back row, digging 12 times.
"Overall, our offense wasn't executed properly, and that is how we lost the game," Moses said. "[Amherst] was playing smarter volleyball than we were. We didn't concentrate on the basics of volleyball."
This weekend, the Jumbos will have a chance to atone for their mistakes at the Bates Invitational in Lewiston, ME.
