Homecoming Weekend offered the volleyball team a chance to leapfrog a few NESCAC opponents.
Hosting Amherst and Middlebury, the Jumbos were looking at a pair of potential wins that would have pushed them out of .500 territory and up the NESCAC ladder. Instead, the team finished with two more losses, dropping its record to 8-11.
"Both of those teams did their jobs," coach Marritt Cafarchia said. "They came in and played steady volleyball. They did not make mistakes - they made us make mistakes."
Tufts hosted Middlebury Sunday afternoon at Cousens Gym. In the first game, the women came out lethargically, quickly falling behind in the first points of the match and continuing to trail as the Panthers built a 24-14 lead. The game ended in a 30-24 defeat, but the Jumbos rallied back in the second.
"After the first game, we decided to take control of the match," Cafarchia said. "As a team, we were doing the little things together: We were serving tougher; we were blocking better."
The momentum swung when coach Cafarchia called an early timeout trailing 11-6. Behind junior Natalie Goldstein's serving, the Jumbos tied the score at 11 and, on a five-point run behind the serve of junior Stacy Filocco, were able to take the lead 21-15. The lead stuck, and the Jumbos won 30-21.
"We put in Stacy, who really turned up her game and was playing awesome," senior captain Katie Wysham said. "She came out with energy and played great defense."
The third game looked promising for Tufts when Cafarchia called a timeout leading 13-11 and received a positive response from the team. A service ace by Wysham brought the lead to 17-11. However, while trailing 22-17, Middlebury sparked a turnaround off a timeout thanks to dominant serving by freshman Lauren Barrett. Tufts recaptured the lead 25-24 following one of Filocco's 15 kills, but the Panthers capitalized on missed opportunities by the Jumbos, pulling out the game 30-27.
"We can't carry our energy," Wysham said. "We're either really high or really low, and we got in our own heads playing individually and not as a team."
The fourth and final game put the match out of reach as the Jumbos fell behind quickly and lost 30-19. Middlebury improved to 10-6 and rose to fifth in the conference.
Wysham contributed with 10 kills and eight total blocks while Goldstein and Filocco added 26 and 25 digs, respectively.
Saturday at noon, Cousens Gym was packed preceding the football game as the Jumbos took on Amherst. The match was crucial - the Lord Jeffs were 14-1 and undefeated in the conference at 2-0 - although their tight five-game win over Tufts last season added to the intensity.
The Lord Jeffs jumped up 8-1 in the first game. The Jumbos were able to cut the lead to one point three times in the match, but could not complete the comeback. Amherst senior Jaclyn DeMais finished with nine kills, but wreaked havoc on the outside with huge slams all match long.
The second game started auspiciously for Tufts with freshman Caitlin Updike serving to a 7-1 lead during a run in which she had both of her aces on the match. Updike also became the primary receiver of sets throughout the game. Contrary to the first game, the Jumbos came out on fire but finished meekly. Their 17-11 advantage evaporated into a 20-19 hole, and they could not close the gap as they dropped the game 30-24.
Tufts jumped out ahead again in the third game 10-6, but that one followed the pattern of the previous games. Amherst tied the game up at 11 and never looked back en route to a 30-21 win and a sweep of the match.
The Jumbos head to Brandeis on Tuesday before another weekend of conference matches against Trinity and Wesleyan in the Amherst Invitational.
"We're stoked to get another chance to pick up our NESCAC record," Wysham said. "We're a better team than our record shows."
"I believe this weekend gave our team a wake-up call and will give us a sense of urgency for the rest of our season," Cafarchia said. "We will improve every time we step on the court, and we will make strides this week and this weekend."
