The volleyball team came up one game short of a perfect conference season after running its conference record to 9-0 with wins over Hamilton and Middlebury, losing to the first-place Williams Ephs 3-0 in its final NESCAC regular season weekend, hosted by Middlebury.
Finishing the season with a 9-1 conference record, the 26-5 Jumbos earned the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament, which will be held this upcoming weekend at Williams.
"The first two games, we played really well," freshman Stephanie Viola said. "We played together and got things done, which was really great. The final game, we didn't show up, so we lost all three games."
On Saturday afternoon, the Jumbos fell victim to the Ephs 30-19, 30-21 and 30-19. Williams was coming off a five game victory over Amherst and had no problem with the Jumbos, who had not lost a game all weekend coming into the match.
"We don't know what happened," Viola said. "It was just one of those things where you can show up or you cannot show up and we didn't."
The Jumbos had the most trouble with Williams' 6'2", All-American middle blocker Joyia Chadwick.
"Williams ran a very quick offense," Viola said. "[Chadwick] pounded away at our defense. She just kept pounding the ball right to our setter, which made it difficult to run defense."
The loss was d?©j? vu for the Jumbos; Williams defeated them 3-0 one week ago in the finals of the Hall of Fame Classic. It was a disappointing way for the team to end the regular season.
"The Williams game definitely hit heavy," Viola said. "It hit home for our team. It wasn't a good way to end the weekend."
According to head coach Cora Thompson, the loss was more a result of the Jumbos' poor play than the Ephs' good play, as the Jumbos struggled with passing, communication and service, committing seven errors.
Junior Courtney Evans led the Jumbo attack with nine kills, and sophomore Kelli Harrison led the defense with 13 digs.
"I would never take anything away from Williams and the way they played because they did what they had to in order to win, but we did not play well," Thompson said. "As one of my captains said, we did not show up, and that's the most disappointing thing. We had a great opportunity in front of us and did not even show up to take it."
With the regular season over, the Jumbos will now have to refocus their attention toward the NESCAC Tournament. The eight-team, single-elimination tournament will decide the conference champion, who will then have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament for a national title.
"We're in a very good place," Viola said. "We're second in the NESCAC. We have a high seed. Now we've lost to Williams twice. We have that fire and we really want to beat them."
The Jumbos secured the second seed by winning their first two matches of the weekend against Hamilton and Middlebury. The playoffs are like a new season for Tufts, and the pain of the loss to Williams over the weekend could be erased if the Jumbos get the best of the Ephs come playoff time.
The victory over Middlebury was important because a loss to the Panthers could have placed the Jumbos as the third seed in the NESCAC.
The Jumbos did not stumble, however, setting the tone early against Middlebury and cruising to a 3-0 victory (30-16, 30-25 and 30-26), despite playing on Middlebury's home floor.
Harrison had a strong all-around match as she recorded 18 kills, four solo blocks with one assist and 11 digs. Senior co-captain Emily Macy added 12 digs to lead the defense.
"We were communicating," Viola said. "We were playing as a team, and whenever we do that, we beat teams in three games ,which is what we did with Middlebury."
The victory upped the Jumbos to 9-0 in the NESCAC, while dropping Middlebury to 7-3 after an 0-2 weekend.
The Jumbos opened the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Hamilton on Friday night. Hamilton has been the worst team in the NESCAC this year, with an 0-10 conference record and a 6-18 overall record.
According to the players, Hamilton's slow offensive attack, along with their tendency to give up free balls, allowed the Jumbos to triumph quickly and easily.
Every Tufts player saw court time except for injured freshman setter Megan Tunstill. While no Jumbo recorded double-digit kills, seven had three or more.
The team was very successful, serving with eight aces and defending the net with 13.5 blocks. Junior April Gerry earned eight block assists.
"Hamilton is one of the weaker teams in the conference," Thompson said. "We went into [the match] expecting to play well and finish it in three and that's what we did. It was a full team effort. We were able to get everyone playing time and move people around in different positions."
Having completed their regular season, the Jumbos will now prepare for the NESCAC Tournament in hopes of winning their first conference championship since 1996, when they defeated Williams.
"I don't think I will ever be satisfied so long as there is a national championship to be won," Thompson said. "Our team has done very well this year, but we still have a lot to prove. We are fighting for an NCAA bid, and if we fall short, we are hoping get the at a large bid. This team has a lot of season to go."
