The volleyball team will travel to Williams College this weekend with a chance at winning the NESCAC Championship for the first time since 1996 and moving on to the NCAA Tournament.
The Jumbos, seeded second in the tournament, like their chances this weekend.
"I feel confident that if we come in and play our game, we can take the tournament," freshman middle hitter Katie Wysham said.
After a season in which the Jumbos went 25-6 and 9-1 in the conference, no player wants to see the season end this weekend. To prolong their season, the Jumbos will have to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament, an accomplishment that would be guaranteed by a NESCAC Tournament victory.
"I expect to play very well all weekend and win the conference," coach Cora Thompson said. "It will not be easy, but it is certainly possible. We are a strong team and Tufts can win it. I expect my whole team to step up and fight for every point, the way they have all season long."
The biggest obstacle between the team and a tournament title is the first seeded Williams Ephs.
The Ephs, winners of the last three NESCAC championships, have defeated the Jumbos the past two weeks without losing a game.
"They have played their game consistently and they run a quick offense [against us]," Thompson said. "We have mentally broken down and physically have done nothing to help ourselves either. They are a tough team with few weaknesses. We have to bring a tougher mentality to the court when we play tough teams."
Despite the two losses, the Jumbos refuse to lose confidence.
"It hasn't hurt our confidence," Wysham said. "It has made us realize that we have to be confident. We came into [last week against Williams] not wanting to lose. We have to go into the game [this time] wanting to win."
Because of the seeding, the two teams will not meet unless both make it to the final match. Thompson is not ready to look ahead so far just yet.
"When a team focuses on anything besides the present moment, it weakens its hold and focus on the present moment," Thompson said. "We have a big task ahead of us, but if we take it one point, one game, one match at a time, we will succeed."
Tufts will open the tournament with a match against seventh seeded Bowdoin College.
While the Jumbos defeated the Polar Bears 3-0 on Oct. 9, Thompson is not taking anything for granted.
"They are a much improved team and they will certainly give us a run," she said. "They do play great defense and they are tall. They were able to block us last time we played them and our hitters will have to be smart."
Even though Thompson respects the Polar Bears, the players feel they'll triumph once again.
"Bowdoin has some strengths, but we should be able to put them away in three," senior setter Rebecca Schaevitz said. "We just have to play our game."
If the Jumbos can get past Bowdoin, they will face the winner of the opening match between Bates and Amherst. It would be an upset for the sixth seeded Bobcats to upend the third seeded Lord Jeffs.
The Jeffs had been successful against the Jumbos in the past having beaten them 12 consecutive times, including a 3-2 victory in the opening round of last year's NESCAC Tournament.
The Jumbos turned it around this year, however, rallying from two games down to defeat the Jeffs 3-2 on Oct. 16.
"We will do the same thing we did this year, only start in the first match," Thompson said. "We were very tight and tense in the first games of the Amherst match this year. We are a better team, a stronger team and a mentally tougher team than Amherst has seen in the past. We will play our hearts out knowing that we want it as much as they do."
To defeat the Jeffs, Tufts will have to contend with senior setter Annie Hoeksma.
"Basically their setter is able to mess up our defense because she's tricky," Wysham said.
While the only way for the Jumbos to assure their trip to the NCAA Tournament would be to win the NESCAC, they could sneak in with an at-large bid. One such bid is awarded for New England and the Jumbos, ranked third in the region, would have a chance. If the current second ranked team, the Coast Guard, wins its conference, the Jumbos would be virtually assured the at-large bid if they hold seed in the tournament and make it to the championship game.
The team hopes that after this weekend, they won't need that bid.
"We're just going to go in there playing our game and expecting to win," Wysham said. "We're not going to play for that at-large bid. We're going to play to win."
