After a disappointing Friday at the Emory Classic in Georgia this past weekend, a strong recovery on Saturday showed that the No. 22-ranked volleyball team knows how to deal with adversity. Whether this team is good enough to repeat its 2009 trip to the NCAA tournament, however, remains up in the air.
Despite being pitted against some of the top squads in the nation, the Jumbos pulled away after the weekend with a 2-2 record and a strong sense of potential for the season.
"It took a while to learn how to play together, with so many new players on the court," senior quad-captain Caitlin Updike, an All-Tournament selection, said. "But I felt like we were able to get it going by the end and build momentum."
Tufts' first victory of 2010 came in exciting fashion as the team pulled away from Texas Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon 15-6 in the fifth and decisive set. The Jumbos then rolled over Gettysburg College, disarming the Bullets 25-11 in the fourth set to win 3-1.
But these victories followed a distressing opening day in which the Jumbos, perhaps a bit rusty, lost a five-set heartbreaker to St. Catherine College, dropping the final set 18-16. They were then beaten decisively in three sets by the host No. 3 Eagles, falling 25-17, 25-19 and 25-19.
"Of course it was disappointing to lose," junior Cara Spieler said. Spieler had nine kills in the loss to Emory. "But it was good for us to come out of the gates playing teams that have played together for much longer than we have," Spieler said. "We had to make some adjustments, and then we came out Saturday and got some wins."
Both Emory and St. Catherine had played a handful of games heading into the tournament. For Tufts, however, the Classic was the first test for a roster still struggling to gel after losing three starters.
The new Tufts offense struggled on Friday, particularly against Emory. In their match against the Eagles, the Jumbos managed only 28 kills on 117 attempts — a .026 percentage. Updike spearheaded the attack with 11 kills, but the Jumbos were overmatched by the tournament hosts.
"Playing Emory got us to a level that we wouldn't have been at otherwise," Updike said. "We played with great energy, and they had a bunch of fans there, which was fun."
The Jumbos had even more fun during their undefeated performance Saturday. Tufts came out focused and ready to prove that its preseason Top-25 ranking was deserved, and the Jumbos did so with back-to-back victories.
"We played good competition on Friday, so it didn't seem like we were 0-2," Spieler said. "We didn't let the losses affect us and came out stronger, serving better and playing more disciplined defense."
With their season record now standing at an even 2-2, the Jumbos will head home to Cousens Gymnasium for a game Tuesday night against Gordon College, a team Tufts dispatched in straight sets in 2009. The Jumbos will be looking to keep their undefeated regular season streak at the newly renovated Cousens intact.
"I don't know that much about Gordon except that we beat them last year," Spieler said. "But I know that playing at home will be really exciting."
