The women's volleyball team entered Tuesday's game against UMass Boston with revenge on its mind. Boasting an 11-1 record, the Jumbos had only one blemish on an otherwise perfect season: a Sept. 11 defeat at the hands of the very same Beacons team at the season-opening Brandeis Invitational.
On that day, the Jumbos rallied from a 2-1 deficit only to lose the match in the fifth and decisive set 15-8. On Tuesday night at home in Cousens Gym, the Jumbos had a similar hill to climb — only this time around, they showed their ability to come back from adversity. The team grinded out its most dramatic victory of the year with a 15-12 win in the fifth set, stamping its authority on Div. III New England volleyball.
"We have heart, we have grit and we know that we have the ability to come back from any deficit," said junior outside hitter Caitlin Updike, who struggled with the UMass Boston defense on Sept. 11 but contributed a team-leading 20 kills on Tuesday.
The Beacons walked into Cousens on Tuesday with a little swagger, having won their last 13 matches, including seven straight without dropping a set. The Beacons had earned their No. 1 ranking in New England with disciplined defense and strong hitting from senior Kate McWhorter, who registered 22 kills in Tuesday's loss, the most from any player on the court.
"[The Beacons] are a team that forces you to earn your points," coach Cora Thompson said. "They aren't going to serve out a lot, they don't make a lot of hitting errors. They really force you and challenge you to be the best team that you can be."
The Jumbos were sloppy in their first matchup against UMass Boston in early September, committing a season-high 27 errors overall and sporting only a .152 kill percentage as a team. Updike and fellow junior hitter Dawson Joyce-Mendive struggled in that meeting with the Beacons, as the two normally steady hitters had abysmal kill percentages of .108 and .075, respectively.
But on Tuesday, Updike and Joyce-Mendive were the top two offensive presences for the Jumbos; Updike made only two hitting errors to go along with her 20 kills and Joyce-Mendive scored 15 kills to go along with just five errors.
"We've made a 180 degree flip," Joyce-Mendive said. "When we first played [UMass], our offense was bad, our defense was bad. Since then we've been working really hard in practice; our defense has improved and everything is starting to come together."
After winning the first set 25-22 on Tuesday, the Jumbos dropped the next two 25-12 and 25-23. The team had difficulty dealing with powerful serves from the Beacons, often forcing starting setter and senior co-captain Dena Feiger off the net and limiting her ability to make efficient offensive choices. UMass Boston ended the day with eight total aces, including one from freshman Frana Burtness-Adams during a string of eight unanswered points that turned the tide for the Beacons in the second set.
"They served us very tough," Thompson said. "They had more than a few aces there, and when they pushed [Feiger] off net, she really had only one or two options, and their blockers were getting their hands on the ball. So really we wanted to get our passes on the net to Dena so she could run a more dynamic offense, which is eventually what started happening."
The Jumbos, facing the prospect of yet another defeat at the hands of the Beacons, clawed their way back into the game with tough defense. The team compiled 12 team blocks on Tuesday, eight more than in the first meeting. Sophomore libero Audrey Kuan contributed 26 digs and senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson came up big with five blocks and 13 digs, including two outstanding "pancake" digs when the Jumbos were down 6-7 in the fourth set.
"Once we started playing defense first, that was the turning point for us," Helgeson said. "We were so focused on our offense that we didn't pay attention to serving and defense, and once we started being strong on defense things turned around."
Down two sets to one, the Jumbos relied on leadership from both Helgeson and Feiger, who battled against a tough serving game from the Beacons but still executed the offense with precision by tallying 52 assists on 135 attempts.
Tufts also excelled at remaining calm and composed at the critical moments of the game. Down 9-11 in the fifth set, with the game on the line, the Jumbos came out of a timeout appearing relaxed, smiling and even joking on the court.
"One of our goals this year was not only to be physically tough but also mentally tough and mentally loose," Thompson said. "We don't want to get so worried that we get tight. A phrase that we use is, ‘Love this challenge right now.' We want the best teams, and they are going to come at us, so even if we're two points down, we say, ‘Now here's a chance to come back against a great team.'"
With Tuesday's victory, the Jumbos improved their record to 12-1, putting themselves in prime position to move up into the No.1 ranking which was held by UMass Boston as of Tuesday. The Jumbos continue their season Friday when they host Union College at Cousens Gym in the opening round of the Tufts Invitational. The team will attempt to prolong its undefeated record in its new home.
"We love defending our house," Feiger said. "It's so much fun to play here, and any team that comes here is going to have to play really, really hard to even have a chance against us."
