The 2008 campaign was a historic one by any standard for the volleyball team.
The Jumbos went undefeated through 15 matches to start the season, earning the top ranking in New England and going an undefeated 10-0 in regular-season conference play. They also hosted both the NESCAC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament Regionals.
But despite these impressive benchmarks and the return of coach Cora Thompson, who won NESCAC and NEWVA Coach of the Year honors after returning from a season away from coaching, Tufts was eliminated at home in the second round of both the NESCACs and NCAAs by teams that the Jumbos had beaten during the regular season.
Still, the squad isn't letting the untimely losses, including Friday's 3-2 marathon defeat at the hands of the Wellesley Blue in the regional semifinals in Cousens Gym, detract from its perspective on the breakout season.
"There's no way to say 29-4 isn't a successful season," senior tri-captain Stacy Filocco said. "But it's hard to beat a team more than once, especially good teams like Williams and Wellesley."
"I still firmly believe we are a top team in New England," Thompson added. "I still think we can beat any team, but teams can play differently when you see them multiple times, and they can adjust."
Tufts' first loss of the season, a 3-0 rout during the Tufts Invitational, came at the hands of Union College, leaving the hosting Jumbos to settle for third. The squad then rattled off nine more wins, including three five-set matches. Later, at the Hall of Fame Tournament against Springfield, the Jumbos dropped their first five-set match of the season.
The team went 5-3 in its last eight matches, though all three of those losses came in extended five-set fashion. Tufts' season even came down to a race to five points, as the fifth and deciding set against Wellesley Friday was tied at 10 points apiece.
"It's tough going into any fifth set," sophomore Caitlin Updike said. "It's pretty telling of who the better team is, and one team will sometimes blow the other team out of the water. But that match was a great fifth game. When it gets to that, both teams are tired, and it's a matter of who can pull it out ... We fought as hard as we could, but it wasn't our day."
"In a sense, you wish the fifth set would go to 25," Thompson added. "I guess it doesn't matter whether it's to 25 or 15 -- just losing a match is frustrating when you know you have what it takes to beat that opponent. We can't overanalyze it too much. We just got beat on the wrong day by a team that played really well, but it's not for a lack of trying."
Another regular season highlight for Tufts came in finally overcoming non-conference foe MIT; the Engineers thrice downed the Jumbos in 2007. This year, Tufts toppled their New England rivals on the way to winning its first MIT Invitational.
The Jumbos also lost twice last year to Williams before earning three-set and five-set victories over the Ephs in 2008. But Williams took the victory that made all the difference, getting the best of the Jumbos in the NESCAC semifinals Nov. 8 in a five-set match before successfully defending its conference champion crown in the title game against Amherst Nov. 9.
"It's always frustrating to know that we could've beaten them, but every team is improving throughout the season, and by the postseason, every team is playing at its absolute best," junior setter Dena Feiger said.
But the Jumbos, who were ranked at the top of New England for most of the year, still managed to secure an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, hosting the regional tourney in Cousens over the weekend.
"Getting an NCAA at-large bid was definitely a high point," Filocco said. "It shows respect for our program and our season."
The 2008 campaign was led by senior tri-captains Kate Denniston, Natalie Goldstein and Filocco. Goldstein earned league Defensive Player of the Year honors, and she and Feiger were named to the All-NESCAC First Team, while Denniston claimed a spot on the Second Team. The remaining graduating senior was defensive specialist Maya Ripecky, who started all four years of her career.
The Jumbos will return sophomore outside hitters Dawson Joyce-Mendive, who also garnered All-NESCAC Second Team honors, and Updike, who topped the team in kills per set. Both won NESCAC Player of the Week awards.
"It's going to be a challenge to replace the seniors," said Feiger, who will be one of two seniors on next year's team. "It's an awesome class, and we'll miss their great leadership and experience."
"We'll miss a lot of defense, but I think we'll still be good," Updike added. "It was such a fun season -- setting records and doing things the program's never done before. We gained a lot of fans and coming off such a good season, we can build on that."
