Volleyball | Jumbos have chance to make history this weekend

    Since Tufts volleyball gained varsity status in 1981, the team has only reached the NCAA Tournament four times. But not once in 28 years have the Jumbos been victorious in the New England regional tournament and earned the right to represent New England volleyball on a national stage in the NCAA quarterfinals.
    This weekend, Tufts will hope to rewrite the history books.
    In 1996, the team's first ever berth in the NCAAs was a significant achievement in and of itself. In 2005, the Jumbos reached the NCAA regional final for the first time in team history, only to run into a stellar Colby team that had finished the season with an undefeated NESCAC record.
    In the last two seasons, however, expectations for the Jumbos have changed. Tufts has spent much of the last two regular seasons at the top of the New England regional rankings, only to suffer crushing defeats in the postseason. Last year, the Jumbos finished the season at No.1 in the NESCAC but were dispatched in the conference tournament by Williams and then beaten at home in the NCAA regional semifinal in five grueling sets by Wellesley.
    This season again ended with Tufts at the top of the NESCAC standings and earning the right to host the New England NCAA regional in Medford. The games at home this weekend are an opportunity for the Jumbos to stake their claim as one of New England's elite volleyball programs and to decidedly break into the upper echelon of New England volleyball. For the past three decades, teams like Williams and Amherst have had a stranglehold on New England's one quarterfinal berth in the national tournament. This year may be Tufts' best chance in program history to break the mold.
    Tonight, in their first NCAA game in the new Cousens Gymnasium, the Jumbos start on a road that they hope will lead them to the quarterfinals in University Heights, Ohio. But the team's path to Ohio will be treacherous. Tufts' half of the New England draw features no team that Tufts has encountered this season. While familiar foes Williams and UMass Boston lurk on the horizon, the Jumbos will first need to advance past Maine Maritime College, the winners of the North Atlantic Conference championships for two straight years.
    "Everyone in the tournament is a threat, with hopes of moving to the next level," senior co-captain Dena Feiger said. "A team that we've never seen before is a big threat, but what we need to do is stick to our game plan by controlling the ball and being the first team to reverse the flow and execute."
    The Lady Mariners feature North Atlantic Conference tournament MVP sophomore Chelsea Ward — who in the team's final two games of the season tallied 34 kills against only one error. However, in Maine Maritime's three games this season versus NESCAC opposition, the team has struggled mightily, going 0-3 and winning only one set, which came back in September against Colby.
    As a point of comparison, both the Jumbos and the Lady Mariners faced Bowdoin College this season. While the Lady Mariners were sent home in convincing three-set fashion, the Jumbos defeated the Polar Bears in straight sets, barely breaking a sweat. But although the Jumbos may be big favorites in this match, the team refuses to look past any NCAA opponent.
    "We plan on taking them very seriously," said junior outside hitter Caitlin Updike, who this year was honored with an All-NESCAC first team selection. "We as a team need to be able to make adjustments and be on our toes throughout the match, changing our strategy if we need to."
    Updike was one of two Tufts players — along with NESCAC-leading setter Feiger — on the All-Conference First Team in a year when postseason honors were spread out among many of the Jumbos. Feiger was named NESCAC Player of the Year this week, becoming the first Jumbo ever to receive the honor. Senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson and junior outside hitter Dawson Joyce-Mendive both made second team All-NESCAC, while coach Cora Thomson received her second consecutive Coach of the Year honor.
    And even though this weekend's games are undoubtedly crucial for Tufts volleyball, the team is doing its best to stay level-headed. While it would be understandable if the team was looking forward to avenging last year's defeat against the Wellesley Blue — and perhaps even further down the road to avenging last week's heartbreaking loss to Williams — the Jumbos are attempting to stay in the moment, focusing on the small details that make up a potential championship run.
    "We don't really focus on becoming an elite program," Thomson said. "We focus on the process of running a competitive program, and if it becomes elite, then that is a tribute to the work we have put in behind the scenes … We know that if we focus on the process and the little things, the big things will take care of themselves."
    For captains Feiger and Helgeson, this is their final opportunity to win the New England regional, but their focus is less on results than on simply enjoying the process and cherishing their final games of collegiate volleyball.
    "The feeling is really more excitement than urgency," Feiger said. "It has been a great four years, and we're excited to play high-level volleyball and to go as far as we can in the tournament. We're going into this tournament to have fun. We always have fun when we play, and that's really our biggest goal."