They say good things come in threes, and after a regular season effort that saw the volleyball team post two victories over the defending champion Williams Ephs this fall, the Jumbos were ready to make good on the expression heading during Saturday's NESCAC semifinal battle with Williams.
As it turned out, the third time was the charm for the Ephs, as Tufts narrowly fell to the defending champs 3-2 in a five-set semifinal marathon in a packed Cousens Gym.
As the No. 1 squad in both New England and the NESCAC with a perfect 10-0 conference record, the Jumbos were the top seed heading into the tournament. Although Tufts had home-court advantage throughout the tournament, No. 4-seeded Williams had history on its side, having captured the championship in 2007 in addition to four consecutive titles from 2001 through 2004.
The experienced Ephs took the lead from the start in a back-and-forth first set that saw the score tied seven times before the Ephs sealed it 25-22.
The second set of the match wasn't lacking in intensity either, as Williams came close to taking a commanding 2-0 lead. The Jumbos, however, clawed their way back from a 24-19 deficit, fighting off five straight set points to knot the score. The Jumbos then survived two more set points before they completed the comeback and took the set 28-26.
"I could not be more proud of this team and the fight they have in them," coach Cora Thompson wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. "This team is gritty and determined and when we are challenged, we rise to the occasion. They did battle with everything they had and that 'refuse to lose' attitude was so evident, especially in set two."
With the match tied 1-1, neither team could build significant momentum and pull together two consecutive set wins. Williams took the third set 25-20 but only after the score was tied 10 times.
The fourth set was just as tight and saw another seven ties in the score, but this time the Jumbos came out on top by another 25-20 score. Neither the No. 1 seed nor the defending champion was willing to give an inch in a scrappy battle, in which both sides came up with miraculous digs to keep long volleys going. The two teams, in fact, combined for 91 digs on the match. Williams also employed a particularly effective block scheme to stymie the Tufts offense.
"They had a really big block and their passing was fantastic," sophomore Dawson Joyce-Mendive said. "I was getting a lot of sets, and they saw that the ball was coming to me."
Joyce-Mendive saw a lot of action throughout the match, leading the Jumbos with 24 kills. Classmate Caitlin Updike and junior Brogie Helgeson also chipped in nine and six kills apiece.
"They do have a big block and when our pass was off -- it was tough for our hitters to get around their block," Thompson said. "When our passing was on, I think [junior setter] Dena [Feiger] did great [a] job of spreading the offense and giving our hitters the best one-on-one match ups."
In the fifth and determining set, the Ephs looked as though they were going to put the Jumbos away early after taking leads of 3-0 and 9-4. Following the trend of the match, though, the Jumbos pulled themselves back into contention, tying the score at 11. But after a 4-2 run, Williams finally ended the Jumbos' bid for a spot in yesterday's finals with a 15-13 set victory to seal the 3-2 win.
"They played a really great game," said Feiger, who ran the offense with 54 assists in the match and also contributed nine digs to the defensive effort. "Their season is coming together for them at the perfect time."
"They had a much quicker offense and incredible defense," senior tri-captain Natalie Goldstein said.
Senior tri-captain Stacy Filocco led the defense with 23 digs, coupled with six kills on offense, while classmate Maya Ripecky and sophomore Cara Spieler tallied 20 digs apiece.
"[Williams'] two hitters were really on," Joyce-Mendive said, referring to sophomores Kate Anderson and Nicole Ballon-Landa, who landed 24 and 19 kills, respectively, to contribute to Williams' 54-kill effort.
Williams defeated Amherst 3-1 yesterday to take its second straight title and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Tufts' loss does not necessarily spell doom for the team. At 28-3, the Jumbos said on Saturday that they believe they could receive an at-large bid into the tournament when the Regional fields are announced today.
"We hope to get an at-large bid and then maybe a chance to see [Williams] again," Feiger said.
"Now that Springfield has won their conference, our chances look pretty good," Thompson said. "However, we still need to wait until all conferences have concluded their championships. We are proud to say that we have played with a lot of heart this season and as a result our season has been amazing. We have put ourselves in a great position to be considered for the bid. We hope that our season['s] efforts will be rewarded."
Friday's quarterfinal match against No. 8 Bates offered far less suspense than Tufts' difficult semifinal defeat, as the Jumbos cruised to a 3-1 victory. The team took the first set easily 25-12 before dropping the second set by the same margin. It then closed the match with 25-16 and 25-22 wins in the final two sets. The Jumbos' offensive output came from a host of sources, as Joyce-Mendive, Filocco, Helgeson and freshman Lexi Nicholas posting nine, eight, eight and seven kills, respectively.
Whether or not the Jumbos are rewarded for their record-setting season with an at-large bid, they will undoubtedly have a lot to build on next season, despite losing four seniors to graduation.
"We have a great team chemistry and mentality," Goldstein said. "The team will definitely have a lot of talent next year and we will return 10 strong players."
"It will be hard to not have our seniors next year," Feiger said. "But coach will continue to bring in fresh new players that bring a new aspect to the team. This is a good sign for next year."
