With the final games of the NESCAC regular season just one week away, the volleyball team could have easily overlooked its weekend trip to Smith College. But the Jumbos came out ready to play and stayed on top of their momentum wave heading towards November.
The team won three of its four matches in the Hall of Fame Classic this weekend, dominating its preliminary bracket Friday before falling to MIT Saturday. With a win over Brandeis in the consolation game, the Jumbos earned an overall third-place finish among the 16-team field, which included six of the top eight teams in New England, as ranked in the Oct. 17 American Volleyball Coaches' Association poll.
Nos. 1 through 4 - MIT, Amherst, Williams and Wellesley - were all in attendance. No. 6 Tufts played two regionally ranked opponents and split the games, beating Brandeis before falling to MIT.
The Tufts-Brandeis game was a rerun of the Jumbos' 3-1 regular-season win over the Judges two weeks ago. Tufts came out strong again, winning the first game 30-20 before the Judges pulled out the second, 30-28. The Jumbos proved they had enough left in the tank, winning each of the final two games by a score of 30-28.
"That was a tough game," junior Stacy Filocco said. "We were exhausted at that point. We had to wait around for six hours before we played [Brandeis], but we were both tired. This proved our mental toughness."
Sophomore Brogie Helgeson, freshman Caitlin Updike and junior Kate Denniston all tallied double digits in kills, while five more Jumbos turned in 10-plus digs. Sophomore Dena Feiger played setter in all four matches, tying a season high with 48 digs.
"I think it was a challenge mentally and physically," junior Natalie Goldstein said. "It was a long, long tourney, but we were definitely the stronger team ... We served really tough and got a lot of aces."
Tufts' sole loss of the tournament came in a tight affair with MIT. The Engineers squeaked out the first game 30-28, breaking the Jumbos' streak of 16 straight game wins. Tufts then lost the second and third games by scores of 30-27 and 30-26, respectively. It was the third match of the season between the rivals, and the Jumbos are 0-3 against the powerhouse from Cambridge.
"Overall, we played very well - they just played a little bit better," Filocco said. "One or two points could've gone either way, but they went their way. It was frustrating."
For Tufts, Updike had 12 kills and senior captain Katie Wysham added 10. Junior Maya Ripecky also had a strong match, totaling 23 digs.
MIT went on to win the tournament, sweeping all four of its matches, including the championship match against Tufts' NESCAC rival Williams. MIT's senior setter Amanda Morris was named tournament MVP. Though the Engineers still seem to have Tufts' number, the players were pleased with the collective effort.
"We've improved so much," Goldstein said. "We were right there with them, we just didn't finish in the end. We've probably given them the toughest competition they've had in a while. They've won over 20 matches in a row, and we wanted to end that streak."
Tufts emerged from its pool to play in the championship bracket by winning both of its matches on Friday.
The Jumbos first defeated host Smith with a 30-22, 30-17, 30-18 victory. The team set a new high for hitting percentage for its second straight game at .311. Wysham had nine kills in 19 attempts while Updike and Filocco both had 10 apiece.
Later in the day, the Jumbos played Wellesley in the rubber match of their season's series. Tufts swept Wellesley 3-0 in the teams' first matchup at MIT's invitational on Sept. 22, but then the Blue got revenge at the Jumbo Invitational the following weekend, winning 3-2.
Tufts got the last laugh, winning Friday's match 30-26, 30-26, 31-29 to drop Wellesley to 20-5 on the season. Updike and Filocco again tied for the lead in kills with 11.
In both of Friday's matches, Goldstein paced the Jumbos in digs, with 23 against Smith and 18 against Wellesley, and added two service aces in each match. Wysham played her normal role as a dominant net force, with six total blocks in each match.
Wysham's strong play throughout the weekend earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team. She had eight total blocks in both Friday matches and leads the NESCAC in blocks per game averaging a shade over 1.5 with the next closest player at just over one.
"Katie played very well," Filocco said. "Her blocking was huge, especially at the end of the day against Brandeis because we were really tired, so the fewer balls that came across the net the better."
The two wins on Friday extended the Jumbos' winning streak to six matches, which MIT snapped the following day. Tufts has now won seven of its last eight.
"It was 16 of the top teams in New England, and we came in third, which I'm proud of," Filocco said. "We beat Wellesley, which is huge because we beat them and then they beat us, and now we beat them a second time. It was tough to beat Brandeis again, too. We validated our position as a top team in New England."
Tufts improved its record to 15-12 on the season. This Wednesday, the team will visit 0-7 Bates with a chance to take sole possession of fifth place in the league standings. The NESCAC Tournament starts Nov. 2, and this weekend will be crucial as the league's top teams jockey for position.
