The volleyball team emerged from its only home NESCAC weekend of the year with a pair of straight-set victories over Amherst on Friday and Middlebury on Saturday. With the two wins, Tufts improved its winning streak to five and launched itself to second place in the conference standings.
The Middlebury match was a dominant display from Tufts, as the Jumbos held the Panthers below 16 points in all three sets, en route to a 25-13, 25-15, 25-12 victory. The victory was made even more impressive given that Middlebury had won five straight matches coming into Saturday's match and had a 3-1 record in the NESCAC, good for fourth in the conference.
The first set against the Panthers was a sight to behold for the Jumbos, who finished with a remarkable 17 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. The dominant attacking had Middlebury immediately back on its heels, and the Panthers only managed eight kills with six errors in the frame.
"I'm extremely pleased [with] the way that we've come together as a team, and it really showed this weekend," senior tri-captain Lexi Nicholas said. "But that being said, we're still focused on working on the process and doing the little things right so that we can improve even more."
Tufts outperformed Middlebury in almost every statistical category, leading in kills, digs, assists, hitting percentage and aces. It was probably the Jumbos' most complete performance of the season, and nothing pleased the team more than doing it in front of the home crowd on the team's parents' weekend.
"Playing in front of the parents was just really cool," Nicholas said. "Some people had siblings and relatives here, and I think it made it more comfortable and more fun for us to play."
The Jumbos never even got close to losing a set during the weekend after the first frame in Friday's match against Amherst. The set featured four ties and two lead changes, and the Lord Jeffs actually took the lead at 10-8 before Tufts retied the frame and never trailed for the rest of the match. After Amherst pulled to within 22-20, the Tufts defense stiffened, and the Jumbos won three of the next four points to take the set.
In comparison, the second and third sets of the Amherst match were a breeze for the Jumbos, as they took big leads both times and put away any hopes of an Amherst rally. Capitalizing on large advantages was a focus for the Jumbos coming in, as they wanted to avoid being victimized by another large comeback the way they were against Bowdoin, when they let an 11-1 lead slip away and eventually lost the match in straight sets.
"I think the key was coming out with a sense of urgency from the very start of the match," junior setter Kendall Lord said. "We've really focused on being more consistent and getting through those ups and downs so we can continue to play our game."
Tufts' young, balanced team was again on display in the Amherst match, with the Jumbos having four players with at least eight kills and four players with at least nine digs. Freshman Hayley Hopper led the way with 15 kills.
In contrast, the Lord Jeffs, who substituted much more frequently than the Jumbos, got very solid contributions from senior Cristy Meier, with 16 kills, and junior Kristin Keeno, with 21 digs — both match highs — but could not find much production from their other players.
"I think we're playing the best we've played since I've been on the team," Lord said. "I'm so impressed with the whole team, not just the freshmen but the captains as well. We tried to keep the tempo up and the momentum on our side, and we really succeeded."
The team will have no time to rest on its laurels, however, as the Jumbos immediately take on Colby-Sawyer at home tomorrow. Tufts will then travel to Trinity for a pair of critical NESCAC games with Wesleyan and the host Bantams that will go a long way toward determining where Tufts finishes in the final conference standings.
"Obviously we have some important games coming up," Lord said. "But if we continue playing the way we're playing, the sky's the limit."
