Kicking off an “incredible” weekend, according to first-year Jocelyn Chang, Tufts volleyball beat Bates College on Sept. 25. Starting strong, senior Rianna Liu set the ball to sophomore Hazel Nelson, who spiked and scored against Bates College. Liu provided 23 total assists during the match. Chang said she felt the team had a strong performance in all three matches.
“I think we played at least some of the best volleyball that I’ve seen our team play,” Chang said. “Something that really stood out to me was just the confidence that our team had in all of our games, and … how much they wanted to put out in those games and really be aggressive and not really hold anything back.”
Senior Claire Castor had 11 kills, 1 ace, 1 block and 7 digs during the match, which Tufts won in straight sets: 25–19, 25–20 and 25–20. The win extended Tufts’ streak against Bates to 25 straight matches. The Jumbos haven’t lost to the Bobcats since Oct. 9, 2004.
Moving on to the non-conference matches at Wentworth Institute of Technology, the Jumbos played UMass Boston and Wentworth on Sept. 26. Non-conference matches give teams the chance to play teams that are in different athletic conferences before conference matches start. This was the first time Tufts had played both UMass Boston and Wentworth, and Chang said the team had a special energy at the Wentworth match.
“If I were to highlight a moment, I would say probably the energy we had in the Wentworth game was really, really dynamic,” Chang said. “Everyone on the team was really going for it, and it’s just been a really good weekend.”
Starting the conference with a match against UMass Boston, the Jumbos won 3–0. The first set went over to 26–24, with junior Celina Savage’s kill handing the set to the Jumbos. First-year Tessa Fergusson had a personal best with 10 kills in the match, as well as a block and an ace.
In the second set, the Jumbos led 25–21 and finished with 25–20 in the third set. Over the three sets, the Jumbos widened the point gap from 2 to 5.
Closing the weekend off, the Tufts Jumbos played the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards. Riding two straight wins, Tufts beat Wentworth with a 3–0 victory. Junior Maiwenn Kamdje led the Jumbos with 10 kills, followed by senior Akpevwe Akpoigbe’s 8 kills. Liu had 20 assists, bringing her total for the weekend to 58 assists. Junior Dylan Whisenant had 13 digs and 4 assists.
Chang spoke about the team’s strong camaraderie.
“We had a really great preseason where we did a lot of team bonding, and I think that really helped with me and my other rookies getting to know the team,” Chang said. “I think our team just meshes so well together already. Everyone’s really amazing and hilarious, and we all trust each other, and we’re just continuing to build that trust in volleyball, and even outside of volleyball.”
Preseason began around Aug. 21. Now, with conference play ahead, the team’s focus is on the NESCAC.
“Working every day to beat our best is something that we say a lot,” Chang said.
