With a four blocks, four service aces and a team-high 19 kills, junior Katie Wysham led the volleyball team to a 3-0 victory over Gordon in its home opener on Tuesday evening.
The win propelled Tufts, a regional powerhouse and national contender, to a 5-3 record on the season and dropped the Fighting Scots to 6-4.
The Jumbos held off the surging Fighting Scots 30-23 in the first game, and after easily winning a 30-13 decision in the second, completed the sweep 30-26 in the third. The loss ended Gordon's six-game winning streak that included a three-match sweep to win the Colby Invitational and turned around an early 0-4 start to the season.
"We were coming off a rough weekend after dropping our first NESCAC game, so it was really important for us to start off strong," sophomore Stacy Filocco said. "We knew Gordon had just beaten Colby, so they were riding kind of a high. We wanted to reassert ourselves and prove that we really are legitimate."
Strong play from the Jumbos took the air out of the Fighting Scots' tires. Crisp passing yielded a dynamic offense that combined with Wysham's dominant presence to capitalize on holes in the Fighting Scots' defense. Tufts committed only six service errors, compared to 17 on Sept. 15 against Wesleyan.
"With the passing on, I was able to run for every ball," Wysham said.
Sophomore Kaitlin O'Reilly was the greatest benefactor of Wysham's prowess, delivering 29 assists as the team's main setter.
"We were a lot more dynamic and we were able the tone," Filocco said. "We played at our tempo the whole time, especially in the second game when we killed them. We just took all of our momentum from the first game and jammed it down their throats during the second game."
On the defensive end, a trio of sophomores came up big for the Jumbos. Natalie Goldstein recorded 17 digs, Stacy Filocco added six digs, and Kate Denniston chipped in with two blocks to go along with five kills on the front line.
Led by an offense that includes three players who measure in at six feet or taller, Tufts utilized its height advantage over a smaller Gordon team.
"Our front line just really practices well together," Wysham said.
Wysham, herself, a formidable presence, drew defenders, leaving other players open for one-on-one kill shots.
This dominance allowed Thompson to spread the wealth in terms of playing time, giving some of the team's workhorses a break in the final game. Freshman Dena Feiger had the opportunity to get her feet wet in her first home game.
"We wanted to get [Feiger] on the court and for her to feel confident," Thompson said. "We wanted to get [junior] Stephanie Viola into the game, too. She is a great defender, and I think she did an awesome job. We just wanted to get a lot of players experience."
This momentum surge couldn't have come at a better time, as the Jumbos head into this weekend's MIT Invitational, which will be split between the courts in Cousens and at the Engineers' home in Cambridge. Depending on the course of the tournament, a possible match-up with the regional powerhouse MIT may be in store.
"We really want to play MIT because we really want to reassert ourselves as a team to be concerned with in the New England region," Filocco said. "We were not happy about losing to them early in the season and we're ready for another shot."
"We're finally getting into our flow," Thompson said. "Any time you play well, you are building up momentum. Once we get confident with who we are, we are going to get better. We are looking forward to this weekend."
Liz Hoffman also contributed reporting to this article.
