Back on track

Tuesday night, the women's volleyball team traveled to face the Brandeis Judges in a redemption match, which Tufts earned in a close 3-2 victory. The Jumbos struggled hard, and succeeded in pulling themselves out of slump that began with Saturday's loss to Amherst.

Even without the demons of the weekend, Brandeis was expected to be a difficult team to beat. The Judges are ranked fourth in the region, and their 20-8 record tells a true story about their competitiveness. Until their bout with Tufts, the team had been on a nine game winning streak at home.

For Tufts, this match was an important step in breaking a possible end of the season slide that could only spell disaster with just two weeks left to the regular season.

"After losing that game [Amherst], we knew this was a team we really wanted to come out and get," coach Cora Thompson said. After the first game of the match it appeared as though the Jumbos had not worked out all their troubles from Saturday. They kept the game tight until the 26th point, when the Jumbos pulled out all the stops and managed to win the next four points to take game one 30-26, Thompson, however, was not satisfied.

"In the first game we came out flat," Thompson said. "We could have controlled the game from the beginning."

Echoes of earlier defensive problems in their passing game, combined with Brandeis dominance at the net to defeat the Jumbos in both the second and third games. Brandeis earned a combined 16 blocks compared to Tufts' four. This high number of blocks can be partially attributed to the breakdown of the Jumbo passing game that sent a lot of high, slow passes to the setter, giving the Brandeis net plenty of time to position themselves.

In the second game, both teams were tied until point 20, when the Judges went on a rampage, scoring the next ten of fourteen points to quickly win the game 30-24.

"We weren't connecting on the court," Thompson said. "As a team we have great skill but it is frustrating when things don't come together."

In game three the story became even worse for the Brown and Blue. In their worst game of the season scoring wise, the Jumbos dropped the game big time to the Judges, losing 30-12. In a precarious two to one situation, and momentum definitely not on its side, it was now or never for Tufts.

"I basically went into the huddle and said let's start from scratch," senior tri-captain Dani Cafasso said. "I just wanted us to forget what had happened in the last game, which was pretty terrible, and start out new in the fourth match."

It worked. The Jumbos rallied in the fourth game, finally displaying the resilience this team has demonstrated all season long. Even after falling behind to start 5-1, the Jumbos burst back to life to earn the next 11 of 12 points. Never looking back, they went on to win the game 30-23 and forced a game five decision.

"In game four we were a completely different team," Thompson said. "We had a great game defensively and we picked up our intensity. This had our offense running at a much higher speed."

A new speedy offense and strong defense were two keys that Thompson had been counting on all season to push this team high in the NESCAC.

In game five, the Jumbos rode their momentum to victory 15-13, earning the team a 17-6 record. Freshman outside hitter Kelli Harrison led the team with 20 kills, while junior outside hitter Emily Macy contributed 15. Both Macy and Harrison were able to employ jump serves in the fourth game, with Harrison earning four aces.

Returning senior setter and tri-captain Lindsey Moses set the entire game, putting up a strong 56 assists. According to Thompson, the readjustment to Moses was one of the reasons for the slow start on Tuesday night.

More than that however, she attributes the team's troubles to late season fatigue.

"We have been going really hard with our new schedule. By now, our bodies are about as conditioned as they are going to be. Right now, it is all about heart and attitude. We have the skills to do it; we just need to stay mentally strong."

Cafasso also believes that important to the team's success is their ability to reconnect as a unit.

"We are trying to place an emphasis on team days without volleyball to get back the intensity we had up until this point in the season," Cafasso said.

Up next for Tufts is this weekend's Hall of Fame Tournament at Mount Holyoke where the Jumbos will possibly have the opportunity to rematch MIT who they lost to early on in their first match of the season.