After a smooth straight-set victory over the Worcester State Lancers last night, the volleyball team heads to Wesleyan tomorrow night for a match that will help determine whether the Jumbos earn the right to the NESCAC Tournament. With the 25-14, 25-13, 25-15 thrashing, the Jumbos improved to 25-2 overall on the season.
It was Senior Night at Cousens Gym, which could be the final home match for four Tufts seniors -- Maya Ripecky and tri-captains Kate Denniston, Stacy Filocco and Natalie Goldstein -- depending on the outcome of tomorrow's duel with the Cardinals. But with an 8-0 mark in conference play, Tufts remains the favorite to host the NESCAC Tournament, which starts Nov. 7.
"It [was] the last regular-season home game no matter what, and any additional ones are just a bonus," Ripecky said.
"We hope it's not the last match [at home]," coach Cora Thompson said. "We have to beat Wesleyan for the chance to host the NESCACs. We've worked hard for it all season. From the beginning of the season we've always set our goals high. It's like 'reach for the stars and settle for the stardust.'"
At the Hall of Fame Tournament last weekend, the Jumbos dropped a back-and-forth five-set match to Springfield, the No. 14 team in New England. Although Tufts, the top-ranked team in the region, rebounded with last night's victory, Thompson is still looking for what the team can improve on.
"Against Springfield, there was a championship at stake and their hitters did really well," Thompson said. "Springfield came at us with a high level of play, but we need to minimize our errors. We had too many service errors, yet we weren't serving as aggressively as we should. When you're not serving well, that allows them to set up and run a balanced offense."
"We're being tested," she continued. "And no matter what, win or lose, we have to ask what we are going to do to get better. Minimizing errors is huge. When you're exchanging point for point, you can't give away points and give up the momentum."
Tufts' hitting struggled against Springfield, as the attack had 17 errors. The Jumbos are third overall in hitting percentage in the NESCAC at .229. They trail the Cardinals, who lead the conference at a .235 clip.
Wesleyan is headed by senior co-captain Lisa Drennan, who appears to be well on her way to her second conference Player of the Year award. Drennan leads the league by a sizable margin in total attacks, kills and errors.
"Lisa Drennan is a phenomenal player," Thompson said. "She is their offense. She has a great vertical, and they'll set her wherever she is, even if it's the back row. We need to force her off the net and make her hit down balls. Their setter also loves to be a part of the offense, and she'll hit at times. It will be a true test of how disciplined we are."
Drennan's 4.63 kills-per-set are far ahead of the 3.34 kills per set that ranks Tufts sophomore Dawson Joyce-Mendive second in the NESCAC. Joyce-Mendive -- who sat out during last night's contest -- hit an impressive 58 kills in three matches at the Hall of Fame Tournament.
"Hopefully it's not our last home game," said Filocco, who has had the most attacking opportunities for any Jumbo hitter this year. "It's still the regular season, but it feels like all games from here on out mean a lot to the rest of the season. We know this is a big game."
Both Wesleyan and Tufts run their offenses through junior setters, who find themselves tied at the top of the conference in assists per set with 10. Jumbo setter Dena Feiger racked up another 37 assists in the match against the Lancers and was named to the Hall of Fame Tournament's All-Tournament team over the weekend, the second time she has received such an honor this season.
The two squads' liberos also rank in the top five in the conference in digs per set, as Goldstein has done every year during her collegiate career. The senior tri-captain also recently surpassed 2,000 digs in her career.
The only Cardinal loss in NESCAC play came against Williams, whom Tufts has already defeated twice this season, including Oct. 18's NESCAC matchup. Wesleyan will enter the match with a four-match winning streak and is 7-1 at home in Middletown, Conn.
An added wrinkle to the match will be its time slot -- Halloween night.
"I anticipate Wesleyan will probably have a decent fan base with people dressing up for Halloween," Ripecky said. "It'll be an interesting experience. I've never played before on Halloween, so it'll be fun."
On Saturday, Tufts will face Trinity (2-7 NESCAC) at Wesleyan in the final match of the regular season, while Wesleyan will face Amherst. If either Tufts or Wesleyan wins both matches, that would be enough to lock up home court for the postseason.
"It'd be an amazing experience," Ripecky said. "No Tufts team has ever hosted in Cousens before, so it would be great in that kind of sense. Of course, it's always great to have some more games at home."
