Tufts' volleyball team has lived a Cinderella-like story all season long. But in the end, the slipper just didn't fit.
After dominating the regional tournament on their home court, the Jumbos earned their first-ever NCAA Div. III quarterfinal berth, taking them to University Heights, Ohio to compete against nationally ranked No. 6 Hope College, another Elite Eight first-timer, last Thursday. But the Jumbos could not overcome the high-powered Flying Dutch offense, and their season came to an end with a 3-1 loss in the national quarterfinal.
"[This season] was an uphill battle from the get-go, and I'm just so proud of all the little things we've done," coach Cora Thompson said. "I'm so happy that [the girls] got to experience all the success that they did."
Hope gained the upper hand early on in the match with a 25-17 win in the first set and then tightened its grip on the contest by edging out Tufts 25-23 in a closely contested second set. Tufts still had some fight left, however, before the season's clock struck midnight.
Down 24-23 in the third set, the Jumbos dug in their heels and refused to concede defeat. Junior Dawson Joyce-Mendive earned kills on three match points as Tufts fought off five total. The Jumbos finally converted on their first set-point of the match, thanks to two uncharacteristic attack errors by Hope's star-hitter sophomore Jacie Fiedler. The 60-point set was the longest of any of the matches played that day.
"During that third set we realized that we could compete with Hope," senior co-captain Dena Feiger said. "Our confidence increased a lot. We wanted to prove that we can be there, and we knew we could definitely take a set off of them."
"That 31-29 game was just [indicative of the] refuse-to-lose attitude that we've had all year, just like when we came back from behind to beat Amherst," Thompson added, referring to her team's comeback victory over Amherst in the NESCAC semi-finals.
Tufts kept Hope within striking distance for much of the fourth frame and never fell behind by more than three points early on in the match. But up 15-13, the Flying Dutch finally overpowered the Jumbos, rattling off eight of the next 10 points to build an insurmountable 23-15 lead and eventually claiming the set 25-18 and the match 3-1. Though the Jumbos fought off the first of three Flying Dutch match points, Fiedler notched her 18th kill to finally end the fairy tale.
"Hope played a really solid game — they passed very, very well and they served us aggressively," Thompson said. "With teams like that you need to be aggressive and try to knock them out of their offense. They were really consistent and we couldn't do the same on our side. We made a few too many unforced errors. You just can't give those teams those points."
The Jumbos' attack committed 23 errors on the day and hit for just a .195 percentage — well below their season average of .220. But with 22 kills on the match — 10 of them in the grueling third set — and a cool .298 hitting percentage, Joyce-Mendive was no less effective than usual, leading both teams in kills on the match. Though junior Caitlin Updike chipped in with 12 kills of her own and Feiger dished out 45 assists, their efforts simply weren't enough to hold off the Flying Dutch.
Led by Fiedler's 18 kills against just three errors, Hope hit at a .245 clip, with three separate players racking up double-digit kills. Despite senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson's gutsy performance with a team-leading 15 digs — as well as another 12 from Feiger — the offensive onslaught of the Flying Dutch was too much in the end.
"Dena and Brogie led this team mentally and physically on and off the court and they're going to be a huge loss," said Thompson of her seniors. "It's just huge to have such leadership in a year when you have so much talent."
Though Tufts was hoping to script a different ending to its season, the team is proud of its efforts.
"It takes a lot of focus to continue to play well for three and half months," Thompson said. "You have to look at the whole body of work and it's just so incredible — from being ranked No. 1 in New England for eight weeks to winning two tournaments like MIT and the Hall of Fame."
In addition to compiling a 31-5 record — the most wins in program history — the Jumbos earned the right to host both the NESCAC and NCAA Regional tournaments for the second year in a row. Moreover, they became the first New England team to claim a set in the NCAA quarterfinals since 2004.
"I think that playing Hope and the teams that make it to the Elite Eight made us realize that we can compete on that level and was a huge confidence booster," Feiger said. "It was nothing we couldn't handle for next year, and I think we have the confidence now to take that next step."
"It's amazing to see the consistency in this program over the last four years and it's great to see the expectations of the program even higher," Thompson added. "This team is raising the bar even higher than it's even been before. We are champions, and we do belong in championship games."
