The volleyball team is one NESCAC win away from a program first.
The Jumbos picked up a 25-19, 25-18, 25-23 victory over conference rival Conn. College Tuesday night in New London, Conn. to move its perfect NESCAC mark to 8-0 with just two conference tilts remaining. With a victory over second-place Wesleyan on Halloween night, Tufts would clinch its first-ever regular season conference crown and earn the right to host the NESCAC Tournament beginning Nov. 7.
"The goal of this season was to come into the tournament first in the NESCAC," senior tri-captain Natalie Goldstein said. "It's quite a turnaround from the past couple of years. "When people always called us underdogs and a young team, it's kind of a different perspective."
When the Jumbos last faced the Camels, a Sept. 27 clash that decided the MIT Invitational champion, Conn. College jumped out to a commanding two-set lead before the Jumbos rallied back to win the match. There was considerably less drama on Tuesday as Tufts rolled to a decisive victory.
"We were a lot more efficient with our serving and passing," junior Brogie Helgeson said. "We kept our own rhythm. When it went to five sets last time, we let them control the pace, and they took the first two. But this time we came out from the get-go. We served aggressively and passed well."
"We didn't start very strong when we played them the first time, so they took us to five," Goldstein said. "This time, we were very calm and composed throughout the entire match, while Conn. College was up and down. Our steadiness and aggressive serving kept them off of their offense."
Tufts was once again without sophomore Caitlin Updike, who was named MVP at the MIT Invitational and recorded 20 kills against Conn. College during that match. Yesterday, Helgeson paced the Jumbos in kills with 12.
"We've been working a lot on running a faster offense, and that's a personal strength of mine," Helgeson said. "We're getting to be more successful all-around by getting more hits on the outside and establishing the middle."
Senior tri-captain Stacy Filocco also notched double digits in kills, while recording seven digs. Goldstein and fellow senior Maya Ripecky led the Jumbos in digs with 19 and 14, respectively.
"Our defense has been one of our strongest assets," Helgeson said. "It allows us to run our offense. Defensively, we've become a lot scrappier and more consistent as the season's gone on."
Down two sets at 12-4 in the third, Conn. College almost extended the match beyond three games, storming back to take a 23-22 lead. But the Jumbos sealed the deal, taking the final three points to secure the straight-set victory.
"We had a pretty big lead, but a couple of things broke down," Helgeson said. "When one thing starts to slip, it's hard to change the momentum. We knew we wanted to finish it in three, and we knew we could. We let them back in, but it's great we were able to shut the door."
The Camels were led by the reigning NESCAC Player of the Week, sophomore setter Marissa DeMais, who distributed 25 assists. But the second-year was outdone by Tufts' own setter, junior Dena Feiger, who tallied 37 assists along with two service aces.
Even though its sterling 22-1 record has yet to earn it a spot in the national polls, Tufts retained the top spot in the latest New England regional rankings, released yesterday by the NCAA Div. III Women's Volleyball Committee.
"It's great to be the best team in New England, but it's even better to be the best in the NESCAC," Helgeson said. "It's such a competitive league. Being at top of the NESCAC is more pressure than just in New England."
"It's fun to overtake the better teams, and now everyone else wants to play their best against us," Goldstein added. "They're motivated against us, and I love it. It makes for really good matches, and beating teams at their best shows how good we are."
On Friday, the Jumbos will hit the road for the third-straight weekend when they head to Northampton, Mass. for the Hall of Fame Tournament. The following weekend, Tufts will take on Wesleyan and Trinity in a pair of conference matches that will decide its finish in the NESCAC standings.
"We have a lot to look forward to," Helgeson said. "It's a big weekend, and then [the] next weekend we have Wesleyan and Trinity to finish up the league. It's crunch time and everyone's getting ready for playoffs. Everyone's feeling the pressure."
