The volleyball team's wild ride takes another turn this weekend, as the Jumbos head to Williams for the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.
With a 7-3 NESCAC record, the Jumbos were locked in a four-way tie for second place in the conference with Wesleyan, Amherst, and Conn. College. Head-to-head records broke the tie, and Wesleyan received the second seed, Amherst came away in the third slot, and Tufts emerged from the deadlock with the fourth seed for the tournament.
Although Tufts was not satisfied with the fourth seed, the team feels that the ranking is irrelevant to the tournament results.
"Seeds don't matter at this point," coach Cora Thompson said. "Every team is playing to keep their season alive. It's playoff time."
The seeding means that the Jumbos will play fifth-seeded Conn. College tonight at 8 p.m. Tufts has already faced the Camels once this season, coming away with a 3-1 win in New London on Oct. 17.
If the Jumbos advance past the first round, they will face the winner of the Williams-Middlebury game, with the second round starting at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The potential for a rematch against the first-seeded Ephs, with whom Tufts has split two matches so far this season, is certainly on the Jumbos' minds, but Tufts needs to maintain its focus on defeating the Camels.
"[Conn. College] is pretty scrappy," junior Katie Wysham said. "We can't make any big mistakes, and we have to serve well again, and be able to play well as a team. There's a temptation to look towards Williams because we have a grudge against them, but we can't overlook Conn. College for sure."
In the past two years Tufts entered the tournament as the second seed and progressed to the championship game in both years before being swept by the tournament winners, Williams in 2004 and Colby in 2005. Despite a lower seeding this year, Tufts hopes to shed that pattern and bring home a championship.
"I think if we play like we know how to play, we can be the best team there," Wysham said. "It's just a matter of coming together and playing well as a team."
The Jumbos have the talent to win the championship, but their inconsistent play could lead to an early exit from the competition.
"I think we've definitely been plagued by injuries, and lulls and ups and downs this season," sophomore Kaitlin O'Reilly said. "I think this tournament, the team that we want to be, the best possible playing team, will show up."
If the Jumbos want to go deep in the tournament, they will need to limit the unforced serving and passing errors that have crippled the squad in several games, most notably in a 3-0 blowout by Williams.
"If we serve tough and pass well, we will be able to run a very efficient offense," Thompson said. "Defensively, we need to read our opponents and try to be one step ahead of them mentally. We are a quick and tough defensive team and I expect us to play great defense against the tough offenses we will see."
Indeed, the squad's defending ability is one of its greatest strengths. All season, the Jumbos' extraordinary displays of hustle and desire have frequently compensated for offensive errors. Sophomore Natalie Goldstein, senior co-captain Kelli Harrison and sophomore Maya Ripecky are the team's defensive leaders, totaling 520, 359, and 353 digs, respectively.
Harrison is also a leader of the team's offense, as she leads Tufts in kills, with 428 - an average of 4.32 a game and nearly a third of the team's total.
The Jumbos lost two significant players, senior co-captain Dana Fleisher and sophomore Caitlyn Dealy, to injury this year, forcing other members of the team, including Wysham and sophomore Stacy Filocco, to step into the spotlight.
Wysham has anchored the front line this season, and Filocco, transitioning from her backup setter role last season, has been solid as an outside hitter. If the Jumbos' championship dream is to come true, Harrison, Filocco, and Wysham need to have big weekends - with minimal mistakes.
If the Jumbos advance past Conn. College and take down the Williams-Middlebury winner, they'll be playing for the title. The tournament final will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
