After defeating non-conference Brandeis on Tuesday to vault its winning streak to seven, the volleyball team will be heading down south to Georgia this weekend with some momentum to compete in the Emory National Invitational.
On Tuesday, the Jumbos traveled to Brandeis and beat the Judges 3-0. The win was Tufts' 12th in its last 13 matches and improved the team's record to 20-3. Despite the Judges' 10-15 mark headed into the match, it was not smooth sailing for Tufts. Each game went down to the wire as the Jumbos won each one by no more than six points.
"We came out slow, playing not to lose and just walking towards a win," sophomore Katie Wysham said. "We didn't do anything special to beat them."
In the first game, neither team could gain an advantage as both sides traded points, and by the time the score reached 20-20, neither team had gained more than a three-point advantage. At that point, however, the Jumbos went on a 6-1 run and, despite a Brandeis comeback effort, held on for a 30-24 win.
The second game was just as close as the first. After Brandeis took an early 13-11 edge, the Jumbos were able to wrestle the lead away and post a 24-20 advantage. Brandeis fought back, but the Jumbos extended their lead in the match to 2-0 with a 30-28 win.
After two tight games, the Jumbos appeared on their way to a blowout in the third, taking a 12-3 lead. Brandeis wasn't done yet, however, and cut the lead to four at 26-22. The Judges couldn't get any closer, however, as the Jumbos won the match 30-24 on a kill by freshman Caitlin Dealy.
"We just got too comfortable with the lead and let them catch up," Wysham said. "We started playing slow and relaxed instead of playing our game. We stopped being aggressive."
Tufts found itself with a tenuous lead late in each of the three games, but was able to hang on each time. According to Coach Cora Thompson, the Jumbos managed to win each game by focusing on playing fundamental volleyball.
"We pulled those games out by focusing on the basics," Thompson said. "Our basic game of volleyball is strong enough and solid enough to beat good teams. If we can pass, serve and block well, everything else comes together."
The teams' records side by side didn't forecast a tough match. The Judges, however, played strong defense, funneling the ball to freshman Lorraine Wingenbach, whose 18 kills and 23 digs were enough to keep her team in the game.
"Even if a team is not great overall, these are the teams that are motivated to play their best volleyball against us and we always have to respect that fact as it has been proven over and over," Thompson said.
Senior co-captain April Gerry led a balanced Jumbo attack with 12 kills. She was aided by sophomore Kay Lutostanski's 11. Freshman Kaitlin O'Reilly had another strong match posting 39 assists and 11 digs.
The Jumbos were once again without junior outside hitter Kelli Harrison, who sustained a concussion in practice on Friday and has missed the Jumbos' last three matches. Tufts will be without its leading scorer when the team travels to the Emory National Invitational this weekend, but hope to see her back on the court by the NESCAC Tournament.
"It's obviously going to hurt to not have our huge force on the outside, but what we're really going to miss is not having her down there because we're not a whole team without her," Wysham said.
Given Harrison's impressive statistics and imposing court presence, the team is a surprising 6-0 this season with Harrison not on the court. But this weekend will challenge the Jumbos to keep up that perfect record as the team matches up against some of the best programs in the country.
The Jumbos will play Emory, the No. 3 team in the nation and host of the tournament, on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles are 21-2 and one of their only losses came against No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis.
Aside from the Eagles, the Jumbos will also face a stout test in Millikin University, who has received votes for a top-25 ranking.
"It will be challenging," Thompson said. "We are looking forward to pushing ourselves to be a better team. We are not going to get away with service errors and passing errors against teams like these. We can not afford to give away points. These teams are consistent and will make us earn every point."
The Jumbos will be the only New England team represented in a field comprised mainly of Southern and Midwestern teams.
"New England teams don't get respect out of our region," Thompson said. "We are hardly recognized in the national polls and the other regions overlook us. We want to go down there and show these other teams how good we can be."
The Jumbos will start the tournament with a Friday morning test against Meredith College, before playing an afternoon game against Heidelberg. They will conclude the tournament against Millikin and Emory on Saturday.
"I know our team is looking forward to the challenge," Thompson said. "In the event that we do make the NCAA tourney, we will be seeing teams like these and we want to be prepared."
