Rough stretch wears out volleyball over weekend

The Tufts volleyball team went toe to toe with the best volleyball teams in all of New England over the past week and came out with the scars to prove it. Its conference record went from 2-0 to 4-2, overall from 12-5 to 14-8, as the squad played five games in just three days, and managed to win just two. Of the five teams it played, four were ranked among the top six teams in the NESCAC conference. Amherst and Williams, two of Tufts' opponents over the weekend, are currently tied atop the conference with records of 6-1.

After traveling to Wellesley last Thursday, the Jumbos came home to host a NESCAC Weekend on Friday and Saturday. Tufts played two matches each day. Although it was a tough weekend for the Jumbos, one bright spot was the play of Sophomore Ali Sauer.

"(Sauer) really stepped up," coach Cora Thompson said. "She did a lot of things right, setting, coming up for spikes on the right side, good defense. She gave us a good presence."

Coach Thompson pointed to fatigue as the culprit for the lack of blocking that became more and more apparent as the weekend moved along. The Jumbos' front line had a tough time closing their blocks and making quick adjustments at the net.

"We did not play as well as we could," Thompson said. "We just ran out of gas at the end."

This was especially true in Tufts' match against Amherst. It was a dominating performance by an excellent Amherst team that won the Bates Invitational. Amherst seemed much more rested and the Tufts squad seemed spent. The combination of just nine blocks and junior Lindsey Moses being the only member of the team putting up double digits in the dig column with 11, is never a good sign. One bright spot came from junior Amy Cronin, who tallied 13 kills on the match. However she did not get much support as the entire rest of the team managed only 17 kills.

Their game against Middlebury earlier in the day provided a result more to the Jumbos' liking. They showed great resilience, losing the first set 26-30 then coming back to win the next three, 30-25, 30-21, and 30-24 respectively. Unlike their game against Amherst, the Jumbo frontline was dominant, with four players amassing more than 10 kills. Sophomore Emily Macy led the team with 19 kills, while Cronin and Freshman Courtney Evans each came away with 15. Behind every kill is a great set, and in this game, like ever Jumbo game, the sets came from Moses, who had a season high of 61 assists in the game.

Macy's great game was on both sides of the game, as she totaled 23 digs on defense. Right behind Macy, four other Jumbos scored ten or more digs.

The night before the Jumbos laid waste to last place Hamilton College who still has yet to win a conference match. Helped by many unforced errors on the Hamilton side, Tufts took care of Hamilton in three sets, 30-9, 30-17, 30-22. The Tufts squad jumped on them early, scoring 9 straight points to begin the match, and never looked back. The Jumbo serving game was impressive, totaling 12 aces, 4 of which came from the hands of Moses.

The Jumbos began their weekend against Williams on Friday night. Although they went down in three straight sets, the team kept it close against a tough against a talented squad. Last year's NESCAC Champion, Williams used a variety of spikes and drop shots to keep the Jumbos off-balance. Led by NESCAC player of the week, Sophomore Joyia Chadwick, the Ephs won the first game convincingly 30-21. The next game should have belonged to the Jumbos, as they led through most of it, but Tufts could provide no answer for a late run by Williams and lost the match.

Sophomore Danielle Cafasso led the team with 14 kills. Cronin was right behind her with 12 kills, and Evans, Freshman April Gerry and Macy all pitched in.

Last Thursday the Jumbos journeyed to Wellesley College to take on the perennial powerhouse. After a close game in the first set where Wellesley edged Tufts 33-31, the Jumbos got no closer, losing the next two sets. Each set was very close, but the squad could not manage to bring home the victory. Cronin led the team with 10 kills and added 12 digs, while Macy led the team in digs with 18.

Things will not get any easier this weekend for Tufts. The Jumbos will be traveling to Colby College to participate in another NESCAC weekend. Two of their opponents, Colby and Bates, boast a 5-1 record in NESCAC play. The Jumbos, however, should be much better rested, having almost a week to recover from their last match.