The undefeated volleyball team faced its toughest challenge yet on Tuesday night but ultimately prevailed with a 3-1 victory over the Brandeis Judges in Cousens Gym. With the win, Tufts improved to 9-0 and handed the visiting Judges their second loss of the season.
The Jumbos had already beaten reigning NESCAC champion Williams in an early season tournament, but Brandeis, the defending ECAC champion, entered the match at 8-1, the best record of any of Tufts' opponents to date.
Last year, Tufts beat Brandeis twice by a score of 3-1, with then-freshman Dawson Joyce-Mendive tallying 21 kills in a contest that ended the Judges' 17 home-match winning streak. This time, Joyce-Mendive followed up with a similar performance, recording 17 kills to help Tufts to its seventh consecutive win in the head-to-head series.
"It was a really big game for us, and we kept our composure," Joyce-Mendive said. "This and the Williams matches were our two biggest wins. Williams won the NESCAC, and last year we went to Brandeis and shut down their winning streak, so they wanted to do the same to us. They've got a good team, but we pulled it out."
Last weekend, the Jumbos won their first two conference matches and currently trail only 3-0 Amherst in the NESCAC standings. Tuesday, however, the Jumbos came out of the gate slowly in the first set, falling behind 17-15 before rolling off a six-point run to take control and eventually win 25-22.
In the second, Tufts built up a seven-point lead, then captured the set 25-21. The Judges rallied back in the third, taking leads of 9-2 and 20-12. But the Jumbos rallied late to push the set past 25 points before falling 29-27.
"Brandeis was not letting any balls drop," senior tri-captain Natalie Goldstein said. "They put up a consistent block against us, which was difficult on our hitters. We were having long rallies, but our defense was keeping us in play. [Senior Maya Ripecky and freshman Cara Spieler] were playing incredible defense."
Tufts clinched the match in the following game, winning 25-23.
Spieler and Ripecky both notched double-digit digs, while Goldstein also tallied 23 digs. The Jumbos used a season-high 12 players throughout the match, and Goldstein called the win a "team effort."
"Our serve receive-passing was doing really well," Goldstein said. "It let [junior Dena Feiger] set outside and in the middle. Consistent serve receive-passing helps us take control of games. Plus, we were serving tough against them, which takes them out of their offense and comfort zone."
Feiger continued her recent strong play, tallying all 42 of the Jumbos' team assists in addition to tying for a team-high 23 digs and recording three kills in only five attempts. Joyce-Mendive's 17 kills were the most recorded by a Tufts hitter this year, but she credited her performance to Feiger.
"I don't think I played that well, but great passing lets us get good sets from Dena, which always helps," Joyce-Mendive said. "Dena runs the offense and is always on the court. She makes sure we keep our focus."
Brandeis was led by sophomore twin sisters Paige and Abby Blasco. Paige finished with 12 kills and 15 digs while Abby posted 32 assists and 24 digs.
Tufts will put its undefeated record on the line tomorrow in the opening leg of the MIT Invitational. The Jumbos will face Colby and the winner of Wellesley versus Vassar before traveling to MIT, which defeated Tufts three times last season.
"It's such a good feeling to be undefeated," Joyce-Mendive said. "Last year, we were kind of underdogs all year when we started 0-4. But this year, from the beginning it's been great. We just want to keep our winning streak alive. We have Wellesley, a team that's been winning a lot against good New England schools, so hopefully we beat them. The key is to stay mentally strong."
"This weekend is going to be very exciting," Goldstein said. "MIT is a huge rival. Last year when we went to the MIT tournament, we made it to the finals, and they beat us. So this year, we really want to get some revenge."
