The volleyball team made a strong bid for NESCAC dominance this weekend, sweeping Williams 3-0 (30-25, 30-23, 30-21) in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Invitational hosted by Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges.
The loss snapped Williams' season-long eight-game winning streak in conference play. Williams was ranked fourth in New England coming into the weekend and had dropped only four individual games in NESCAC contests all season.
MIT ultimately cut the Jumbos' run short, beating them 3-0 in the championship game, 30-19, 30-22, 30-24, in the two teams' fourth showdown this year. Tufts beat Bridgewater State 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 30-19), and fifth-ranked Springfield College 3-2 (24-30, 26-30, 30-20, 30-23, 15-6) on its road to the championship game.
Of the four games in which Tufts competed, three were against teams ranked fifth or higher in New England, and its 2-1 record in these games is indicative of the strides the team has made since the beginning of the year.
Both senior Kelly Harrison and junior Katie Wysham were nominated to the all-tournament team.
"Katie played very, very well in the second half of the Springfield game, and Kelly was phenomenal all weekend," coach Cora Thompson said. "[Kelly] just controlled the game and they couldn't stop her."
See Tuesday's Daily for more coverage.
-by Sam Krumholz
