Coming off weekend victories over Wesleyan, Conn. College and Amherst, the volleyball team sat atop the NESCAC with an overall record of 13−3. The Jumbos took on the Blue on Wednesday night knowing that they had just defeated them in straight sets on Sept. 25 in the final of the MIT Invitational.
History repeated itself on Wellesley territory, with the Jumbos downing the Blue in straight sets in a match that featured several long rallies, but eventually resulted in a convincing victory for the Jumbos.
The Blue did not make it easy, though, and came out fighting. In the first set, Wellesley rallied from an early 10−8 deficit to tie the score at 13−13, thanks in large part to the play of sophomore hitter Elizabeth Campbell, who finished the match with 12 kills. However, as they have done so many times this year, the Jumbos brushed off their opponent's push, reeling off three quick points at the end of the match to close out the Blue, 25−22.
The Blue continued their grinding play in the second frame, pushing the score to 16−16 in a see−saw battle. A four−point run on the serve of senior quad−captain Nancy Shrodes, however, put the Jumbos on top, and they closed out the set 25−20.
The final set was almost a mirror image of the second, with the Jumbos using several service runs from Shrodes to break open the frame and seal the match with a count of 25−19, improving their season record to 14−3 and prolonging their winning streak, which now stands at four.
"It was a really good, fun game for us," junior Cara Spieler, who finished the match with five kills and eight digs, said. "We were able to make some adjustments from the last time we played, keep it away from their libero and exploit their tendencies."
The match was marked by Wellesley's strategy of passing the ball around extensively, hoping to find an opening in the Tufts defense. However, the Jumbos were not swayed by the tactic, and senior quad−captain Caitlin Updike was one of five Jumbos with at least seven digs in the match.
"We did a great job of staying in our system and not getting frustrated by the long rallies," Updike, who also added 11 kills to the winning effort, said. "We'll need that as we continue against great defensive teams this season."
Updike played a critical role in breaking down the Blue defense, adding to her already impressive 3.86 kills per set season average.
The box score also exhibits the continued dominating play of sophomore setter Kendall Lord, who finished with a game−high 20 assists, adding to her outstanding 9.14 assists per set. Overall, she has contributed more than 88 percent of the team's assists and has been an able replacement for former All−American setter Dena Feiger (LA '10).
Tufts cannot rest on its laurels, though, as their packed schedule continues this weekend with a trip to Middlebury, Vt., to face NESCAC foes Amherst and Middlebury. Tufts currently sits tied with Bowdoin atop the conference with a 5−0 record, and with Middlebury close behind at 3−0, these weekend matches will be critical in deciding the NESCAC regular season title and the right to host the championship tournament in the first weekend of November.
"We're all really excited for this weekend," Spieler said. "Amherst is traditionally one of our biggest rivals and we want to go out and take both matches this weekend in straight sets."
