Heading into Sunday's NESCAC championship match, the Jumbos were looking to make it four-for-four against Williams this season and claim their first conference title since 1996. But after advancing past Wesleyan (3-1) and Amherst (3-2) in the first two rounds of the NESCAC Tournament, Tufts stumbled in the finals, falling 3-0 to the now three-time defending champion Ephs.
The Jumbos struggled early in the day but had their chances to muster set points in closely contested second and third sets. The Ephs, however, were resilient all day, taking the second set 29-27 and clinching the victory with a 32-30 third set win.
From the outset, the Jumbos looked to be in trouble against a commanding No. 2 seed Williams frontline, which put up 18 total blocks on the match — led by junior Nicole Ballon-Landa with six. After a tight first few points, the Ephs took the first significant lead of the match at 11-7. Taking advantage of their height and the struggling Tufts block, the Ephs built their advantage to 17-11. It looked for a moment like the Jumbos were going to claw their way back into it, as they drew to within two at 18-16, but the surge stopped there and Williams pulled away to secure the opener 25-19.
"They're a really solid blocking team, and they had four hands up on us every time, and it was hard to get through them," said junior Caitlin Updike, who put up 17 kills, five digs and two service aces.
"We got scared and we stopped talking," senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson added. "They played a really good game, and they beat us. They got everything in, and they hit everything hard, and they beat us on our points."
Williams looked to be in charge as the second set got underway, taking a quick 6-2 lead thanks to several Tufts blocking errors and what seemed to be poor communication by the Jumbos. Tufts let a number of balls drop that could have been converted into crucial points — something that plagued it throughout the match.
"That will happen when it's a close game like that — sometimes people get a little frantic," Updike said. "But for the most part we were pretty solid, and they just outplayed us."
Down 9-8, the Jumbos took their first lead of the set on two straight aces by Updike, who also landed three kills during the set.
The Jumbos took that momentum and built a 15-11 lead. But with a chance to finally distance themselves, they lost their steam, and the Ephs climbed back into the game, knotting the score at 17-17. The teams traded points non-stop for the remainder of the set, with both missing several set-point opportunities. In the end, though, it was Williams that prevailed: With a block and a kill, Ballon-Landa notched the final two points to give the Ephs the 29-27 win. Ballon-Landa posted 10 kills in the match — one of three Ephs, along with fellow junior Kate Anderson and senior captain Chelsea Kubal, to reach double digits.
"What happened is that they got the big points at the times that they needed to and they rolled out the momentum," Tufts coach Cora Thompson said. "When our focus struggled a little bit or our defense struggled, Dena [Feiger] really only has one option. And we need to be a multi-threat all the time. But they knew where we were going."
With 50 assists, senior captain and setter Feiger did her best to spread the offense out, but the Ephs' defense seemed to have finally figured out the Jumbos.
It was the third and final set that proved to be the greatest battle of the tournament — a testament to the determination of both squads. Midway through the frame, the Jumbos had one of their best opportunities of the afternoon when they built a 16-11 lead, thanks largely to a seven-kill set by both Updike and junior Dawson Joyce-Mendive. Joyce-Mendive led the Jumbos with 23 kills on the day and was the squad's most effective hitter of the tournament, with 58 strikes.
But just as it looked like Tufts might finally have a handle on the match, the Ephs called a time-out to regroup and then came roaring back, scoring six of the next seven points to tie it back up at 17-17.
The Jumbos went to mount a multi-point lead, and with an Updike kill they drew to within one point of winning the set at 24-21. Unfortunately, that was only to be the first of seven failed set-point attempts for Tufts. Though the Jumbos staved off elimination twice themselves, the third time for Williams proved to be the charm, as the Ephs clinched the set and the match with a 32-30 gut-wrenching win.
"Williams got the crucial points when they needed them, and we just didn't get it done," Thompson said. "We made a few key errors that just opened the door back up for them, and with teams like them you have to put them away. If you give them an ounce of breath or just a little bit of life, they'll run right back. When you have their backs against the wall you have to be even tougher."
With the win, the Ephs completed the sweep of the Jumbos to claim their third consecutive NESCAC title and their seventh in the past nine years.
"Neither team wanted to go down without a fight today," Williams coach Christi Kelsey said. "I think we've just prepared to play every team as it comes. We had to take it one step at a time to come to this points, as I know [Tufts] did too."
It was a tough weekend for the Jumbos, and though they cruised through their first-round match with No. 8 Wesleyan, their semifinal contest against No. 5 Amherst proved a lot tougher, requiring a full five sets that, according to Helgeson, might have taken a little power out of the Jumbos' punch.
"I know all of us felt really fatigued today," she said. "[Williams] had a nice quick three-set game yesterday, and we battled yesterday big time, and that definitely had a big effect today. When it came to tight moments, we made mistakes and tightened up and they were relaxed."
Though they are disappointed, the Jumbos are taking consolation in the fact that is by no means the end of the line. The NESCAC win earns Williams an automatic bid to next weekend's NCAA regional tournament — which Tufts is set to host — but the Jumbos are widely expected to be granted an at-large bid.
"We're great competitors — neither team was giving up," Thompson said. "But I'm interested in other opportunities here. Hopefully we get to see [Williams] once more because I know we'd just love to polish [the record] off."
