Volleyball beats Emmanuel, gears up for tough rest of week

Overmatched: that is the best word to describe the Emmanuel volleyball team against the Jumbos on Tuesday. Overmatched in size, overmatched in skill, overmatched in cohesiveness. But with all this, it still took a good performance for the Jumbos to defeat a pesky Emmanuel squad.

Emmanuel managed to stay around thanks to some gritty digs and deftly placed shots to the sides of the Tufts blockers.

It seemed in the first set that the Jumbos would walk away easily with the victory, as they built a 28-13 lead. Working well together, the Jumbos were enthusiastic and loose, compared to a nervous and quiet Saints group. And while the serving game was working well for the Jumbos, the Saints had trouble even getting the ball over the net.

The problem was brought to the forefront after a miss-hit by an Emmanuel server found the back of the head of an unsuspecting Emmanuel frontcourt player.

But then, at 28-13 things quickly changed. Point after point began to go to the Saints. The Jumbos, for the first time in the match, were back on their heels. They had trouble setting up spikes, and their errors turned into points against them. Suddenly it turned from a blowout into a respectable score, with Tufts leading by just seven points, 29-22.

"One more point!" had been the rallying cry from the bench, and the team, on the court for some time now, found that one point elusive. Coach Cara Thompson had seen enough and decided that it was time to regroup and called a timeout. But she never left her seat on the far end of the bench, allowing the players talked it over among themselves.

The strategy worked, as the Jumbos managed to claim the first set. The run by Emmanuel was a wake up call that Tufts would have to play much better to ensure a win. It did, and bettered its record to 12-5.

Tufts was dominant up front, using its clear height advantage, rendering the Emmanuel spiking game almost non-existent.

As one distraught Emmanuel fan remarked after the game, "The tallest one (on Tufts) is six feet tall? I thought there were at least two around 6'3." "

That is what it felt like, as the Tufts frontline had no problem getting the shots they wanted. Coming off a breakout tournament last weekend, freshman April Gerry led the team with 13 kills. Junior Amy Cronin also had a strong game, finishing off 11 points with spikes. The setting was done almost exclusively by Lindsey Moses, who accounted for all but one of the Jumbos' 32 assists.

On defense, sophomore Emily Macy led the team in digs with 13, but it was a team effort defensively. The Jumbos seemed to always have at least two teammates around the person making a dig to ensure that the ball stayed up.

The win was costly for the Jumbos though, as sophomore Rebecca Schaevitz had to be helped off the court at the end of the game. She appeared to have injured her right ankle.

Over the weekend the Jumbos made the long trek up to Lewiston, ME to participate in the Bates Invitational. They emerged from the tournament with three wins and one loss. Gerry had a stellar weekend, totaling 53 kills, 21 of which came in the first game against Brandeis. For her efforts she was rewarded with All Tournament honors. "I'm on a new team, and it takes a little while to connect with the players," Gerry said, explaining why her level of play increased so dramatically over the weekend. "I've gotten my timing down better, and I'm working a lot better with Lindsey [Moses]."

Tufts finished its weekend on a positive note, defeating both Johnson & Wales and Bowdoin handily, in three sets both times. Macy played well, as she led the team in digs in both games, with 16 and 15 respectively. "By the end of the weekend we were really flowing well as a team," Thompson said. "Everything had come together for us."

Their play on Saturday was impressive, coming after a defeat at the hands of Western Connecticut, 3-1 on Friday night. The Tufts squad had beaten Western Connecticut 3-0 just a week ago, but it was a different story at Bates. It was a tense match, with the margin of victory for each set five points or less.

Earlier in the day the Jumbos defeated Brandeis in four sets. After winning the first two sets, the Tufts team dropped the third set only to come back strong and defeat Brandeis 30-13 in the final set.

The Jumbos are next in action today, away, at NESCAC opponent Wellesley. Wellesley also participated in the Bates Invitational emerging as eventual champion, so it should be a battle when these two teams meet. Game time is at 7 pm. On Friday and Saturday the Jumbos will be hosting a NESCAC weekend. Some great volleyball should be on display as the best teams from around New England will be present.