The volleyball team emerged from this weekend's Hall of Fame Tournament with just its second loss of the season, falling to Springfield in the finals and moving to 24-2 overall with wins over host Smith and conference rival Amherst.
The Jumbos took on the Pride in the tournament final Saturday afternoon looking for a repeat victory over a Springfield team that Tufts downed earlier this year at the MIT Invitational. The Jumbos and the Pride, ranked first and second in New England, respectively, were also the tourney's No. 1 and 2 seeds in the tournament, providing for a showdown of two regional heavyweights. Springfield grabbed the first set by a score of 25-23, but Tufts then rallied to take the next two sets 26-24 and 25-20. Up 2-1, the Jumbos simply could not close the door.
"We were really tired after a long tournament and a five-game match versus Amherst," senior tri-captain Kate Denniston said.
The third and fourth sets both went into extra points, a testament to how evenly-matched the two teams were. Ultimately, Springfield came out on top, winning the final two sets 25-20, 15-11.
"They just wanted it more than us," said junior setter Dena Feiger, who was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend. "I still believe that we are the better of the two teams, though, and if we played them again things would be different."
The loss was the first that the Jumbos have suffered all season to a New England team, but they still boast a better record than the 26-4 Pride. Tufts' only other loss of the year came at the hands of Union College in the finals of the Tufts Invitational Tournament.
The team's loss in the finals to Springfield came hours after another five-set battle, this time versus conference rival Amherst, though the match did not count towards either of the teams' conference records. In their fourth five-set marathon win of the season, the Jumbos had to rally from a 2-1 deficit after they captured the first set but lost the second and third by scores of 25-22, 21-25 and 14-25 respectively.
"We knew we had to play harder than we were," Feiger said. "If we didn't step it up, we wouldn't win."
In a demonstration of how they earned their position atop both the conference and region, the Jumbos came back to take the match with 25-13 and 18-16 victories in the final two sets.
"Amherst was a really good game -- they played very strong," Denniston said. "They set up a big block on us, but we found ways around it. We also passed really well."
Because the match did not have any impact on the teams' conference records, the NESCAC standings remained unchanged, with Tufts on top at 8-0 over second-ranked Wesleyan at 7-1, followed by Amherst at 6-1. This was the second time that the Jumbos have beaten the Lord Jeffs this year, the first being a 3-0 victory at Amherst two weeks ago.
In the first match of the tournament on Friday, the Jumbos staged another come-from-behind victory over Smith, as they dropped the first set 19-25 but went on to take the next three 25-20, 25-22 and 25-21. The win was the Jumbos' eighth in a row and their second win over Smith this season.
Despite suffering its second loss of the season, Tufts should have a little extra motivation this week as they head into their final week of play before the NESCAC tournament begins. They will open up their final three matches with a home matchup versus nonconference Worcester State on Wednesday before heading to Wesleyan for a critical conference match-up on Friday. The showdown between the top two teams in the NESCAC could decide who walks away with the regular season title and the right to host the conference tournament, an honor that the Jumbos have never had.
"Wesleyan is another really good team in the NESCAC," Denniston said. "There is a little bit of pressure, but [winning the NESCAC] is something we really want. We just need to keep working hard and staying mentally tough and focused."
"Friday is so important for us," Feiger added. "We are playing a really good team, and [after the loss] we are just going to have to suck it up, but I know we will. It would be so amazing to host and win the NESCAC this year. We will go in confidently and step it up."
