The first commandment of Tufts volleyball: No visiting team shall walk out of Cousens Gym with a victory.
In a game that had its share of runs by both teams, the Jumbos managed to maintain their perfect home record with a 3-0 win over the Bowdoin Polar Bears Wednesday night. With the win, Tufts improves to 22-6 on the season and 6-2 in the NESCAC, inching closer to a higher seed in the approaching NESCAC Tournament.
Tufts jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first game, but several errors allowed the game to remain close. The squad eventually reclaimed the three point lead at 14-11, but Bowdoin quickly closed the gap to one. Once the score reached 15-14, coach Cora Thompson called a time out to compose her team.
"I just told them to take care of the ball," Thompson said. "We were being too slow on our feet. We needed to pick up the intensity."
The game continued, but not without drama. Twice during the first game, Tufts attempted to substitute players without properly recording the changes at the scorer's table and with the referee. This penalty constitutes delay of game and resulted in a team yellow card. However, the Jumbos went on to prevail in the game by a score of 30-21, thanks to senior co-captain Kelli Harrison's thunderous game-ending kill.
In the second game, Tufts and Bowdoin split the first 12 points to a 6-6 tie. The Jumbos held their ground with strong defensive play, highlighted by several outstanding digs from sophomore Maya Ripecky, and finally took a 21-18 lead. With nine straight points, the Jumbos closed out the match 30-18. Ripecky's impressive dig was one of eight on the night and capped another strong performance for the sophomore off the bench.
"I was always working on staying low tonight," Ripecky said after the game. "I did what I could. Every player contributes a lot, whether she's coming off the bench or not. It's a team effort out there."
The third game proved to be the most suspenseful of the night, as the Polar Bears dominated the first 12 points, taking a 9-3 lead. But Tufts battled back, ultimately rallying to tie the game at 17 before capturing the lead 18-17. But Bowdoin recovered, and once the score was tied at 25, Thompson seized the opportunity for another timeout.
"I told them they needed to win the game," Thompson said. "We were still the stronger team. I told them that if they wanted it, they needed to go and get it."
The squad took Thompson's advice to heart, flawlessly winning the last five points to take the game 30-25 and the match, 3-0. In her last regular-season home game as a Jumbo, Harrison ended Game 3 with another of her signature spikes.
The two senior co-captains, Harrison and classmate Dana Fleisher, were honored in a pre-game ceremony for their four years of dedication to the team. Both went on to turn in excellent performances on a somewhat emotional night, as Fleisher posted a strong six kills, four blocks, and three digs, while Harrison led the Jumbos offensively with 14 kills and two serving aces.
However, the breakout performance of the night was from freshman Dena Feiger. Feiger started in place of usual starting setter, sophomore Kaitlin O'Reilly, who had suffered an injury in a recent practice. The freshman played in all three games at setter and gave the team more than it could ask for with five kills, two blocks, six digs, and a team-leading 29 assists. Feiger attributed much of her performance to the support of her teammates.
"Kaitlin is awesome, and to take her place is really difficult," Feiger said. "Everyone on the team is so encouraging. They have faith in every player on the team."
"We're very lucky," Thompson added. "Dena's very composed. She played great defense and she's attack-minded."
The excitement of the win was somewhat diminished with the news that Williams had beaten Middlebury to clinch the NESCAC Tournament hosting rights, which will take place in Williamstown next weekend.
Both Tufts and Williams will close out the season this weekend in the third NESCAC weekend of the year. The Jumbos can finish the regular season in second place in the conference if they sweep Hamilton and Williams tonight and tomorrow. However, with Amherst at 5-3, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Conn. College at 4-3, and Trinity close behind, with several head-to-head match-ups on the schedule this weekend, a Tufts loss could complicate the seeding situation for the tournament.
