After two months off the court, the Tufts men's volleyball club team could not regain the prowess they displayed last semester. In the North A Divisional tournament at Northeastern University this past Saturday, the Jumbos fell in all three of their matches.
Dartmouth squeezed by Tufts with two 25-23 victories, while the University of New Hampshire defeated the Jumbos with 25-23 and 25-19 wins. The host school, Northeastern, overcame Tufts in two 25-17 matches.
The North Division of the New England Collegiate Volleyball League features several local schools in addition to Tufts, including Boston University, Boston College (BC), UMASS-Lowell and MIT. Boston University (BU) left with strong victories against UMASS-Lowell and UNH, vying once again for the first place championship spot.
In the fall, the Jumbos succeeded in making the quarterfinals, only to be defeated by the University of Connecticut in two 25-20 matches. However, they showed their strength and were able to maintain their high overall ranking in the final tournaments.
The results of Saturday's tournament will count towards the seasonal standings for each team in the division, which will determine who makes the New England tournament. Tufts is starting out in a 0-3 hole in these standings after Saturday's close losses.
Despite these losses, the Jumbos have reason to be hopeful about upcoming games. Having placed fourth overall in the 2004 NECVL Championship, the team hopes that more time on the court will prepare them for the road ahead.
The team has maintained the talent that it needs to succeed for another season, but will have to get back into a groove after an extended period without competitions. In order to make the New England championships, the Jumbos will need to place in the top three at this weekend's tournament at Dartmouth. The field will feature eight teams, including strong programs such as MIT, BU and BC.
In order to attain the results necessary to qualify for New England championships, the Jumbos will need to overcome the inconsistency that plagued Saturday's games and produce well in all aspects of the game.
"When we were passing well, our sets weren't quite there," sophomore Prescott Gadd said. "When our setting was there, we were hitting the ball out of bounds and so forth. We showed potential to play a great game but we just couldn't click for long periods of time and that's what cost us in the end."
Junior Jeremy Maggin reiterated the impact of the time off on the team's performance. He hopes, though, that with practice and more experience competing on the court, the team will be able to click and display the same chemistry and cohesion seen in the fall.
"We came back a little shaky after we did so well last semester," Maggin explained. "I think if we get it together, we'll be able to finish up the season with the success we had."
The team showed flashes of the talent that characterized its fall efforts, but failed to gel consistently.
"We need to play well all together, all at the same time," Gadd added.
The team now sets its sights on this weekend's tournament, and further on in the schedule including the 2005 Regional Championships that will be held at the University of New Hampshire on April 2 and 3.
