"There's no place like home," Dorothy once told us as she clicked the heels of her ruby slippers and longed for Kansas. The Tufts volleyball team apparently didn't need to watch "The Wizard of Oz" to find that out, as the Jumbos christened their new home court at the renovated Cousens Gymnasium with two dominant wins over the weekend.
Having played the first five matches of their 2009 campaign on the road, the Jumbos finally came back to the Hill on Friday to open their NESCAC schedule, proving their strength as a conference contender with wins over Conn. College and Wesleyan.
Tufts stormed by the Camels on Saturday afternoon by a 3-0 margin, improving its record to 6-1 overall. The win was the squad's sixth straight since dropping the opening match of the season to UMass Boston and also marked the fourth time the Jumbos have swept a match.
"I'm really proud of the girls for putting Connecticut away in three [sets]," coach Cora Thompson said. "One of our goals this year has been to be not only a physically tough team, but a mentally tough team. I'm proud of us for staying as mentally tough as we needed to."
Despite the final score, the match was anything but a lopsided affair. The Jumbos had to come from behind in both the first and second sets, with their largest margin of victory coming in the first at 25-21.
"Our team likes to win, and we go out there to win and get the job done," senior co-captain Dena Feiger said. "Nothing feels better than beating a team in three [sets] and giving them nothing."
Feiger, the team's starting setter, was an integral part of Tufts' victory, dishing out 27 assists as she directed the offense. Converting Feiger's passes into points were juniors Caitlin Updike and Dawson Joyce-Mendive, who landed 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson made her presence felt as well with six kills of her own. On defense, junior Kelly Engelking and sophomore libero Audrey Kuan pulled out eight and nine digs apiece.
A powerful component of the Jumbos' offense, Updike is leading the team with 78 kills on the year, a good sign that she is fully recovered after an injury-ridden 2008 season.
"I feel really good," Updike said. "Everything is coming back together and hopefully there will be no more injuries this year."
In Friday night's home opener, Tufts dispatched Wesleyan 3-1, registering a win in its first NESCAC match of the season. After cruising through the first two sets 25-19 and 25-15, it looked as though the Jumbos might be on their way to a sweep for the home crowd. The Cardinals had other ideas, however, and rallied from a 22-16 deficit to claim the third set 26-24. Nonetheless, the Jumbos remained unfazed and were quick to rebound with a 25-21 win in the fourth.
"It really has been an honor to play in the new gym," Joyce-Mendive said. "It was pretty easy to adjust to."
With 11 kills, Joyce-Mendive was a major factor in the match, outpaced only by Updike, who registered 13 kills in addition to nine digs.
Feiger made her presence known all over the court as well, registering 36 assists, eight digs and five blocks. Kuan also continued to impress in her new starting role, coming through with 14 digs.
"Before this season started, everyone was so focused on the seniors we lost and thought that we couldn't do anything this year," Feiger said. "But I think we've proven everybody wrong.
"As well as we played this weekend, I think we're going to play even better than anyone has seen yet," she continued. "We were never worried about [losing the seniors]."
In their quest for NESCAC dominance, the Jumbos have focused not only on the mental aspect of the game, but on their aggression as well.
"You'll notice that we have a few more service errors than we're used to, but we're pushing the girls to serve more aggressively," Thompson said. "It's just a matter of finding that balance between minimizing errors and being aggressive behind the line."
So far, the Tufts' biggest threat from behind the line has been Engelking, who has landed 11 service aces on the year, including two against Wesleyan.
With their first two conference wins out of the way, the Jumbos already have their sights set on another run at the NESCAC title, which they missed out on last year with a crushing 3-2 loss to Williams in the conference semifinal.
"We're going to peak at a better point this season than we did last year," Updike said. "Last year we came out strong and kind of fell off. We're going to be strong all the way to the finish this year."
Tufts appears to be well on its way to figuring things out, having dropped just two sets since the loss in the season opener. If things continue to go the Jumbos' way, they can hope to host the NESCAC tournament for the second year in a row, the ultimate celebration of their new court.
"We're a work in progress," Thompson said. "We're still growing into our own skin, but we're headed in the right direction. The first couple weeks are about figuring out what works and what to work on in practice."
