Tufts volleyball earned mixed results this past weekend, wrapping up a week of play with a win and two losses. Last Wednesday night, Tufts lost to Endicott College (23–25, 22–25, 25–19, 25–21, 16–18). On Friday, Tufts defeated Hamilton (25–18, 25–16, 25–19). Finally, to finish the road trip, the Jumbos lost at Williams (20–25, 23–25, 25–17, 25–22, 11–15). These three games brought the Jumbos’ record to 9–4 on the season and 3–2 in NESCAC play. This weekend also marked the team’s first overnight away trip of the season, giving them a chance to build on team chemistry.
“It feels awesome to be able to have the opportunity to go on the road and play some great teams like Hamilton and Williams,” sophomore outside hitter Christine Audette said. “It was the first away weekend for the majority of our players, and it really was a great bonding experience for all of us.”
Senior middle hitter and co-captain Jennifer Ryan and junior outside hitter Jennelle Yarwood, who are both consistent players for the squad, were out for the weekend, causing several players to step into new roles. Against Williams, Audette had a .341 hitting percentage, the team high, and was second to senior outside hitter and co-captain CateDesler’s 22 kills, with 17 for the night. She helped the team even the score late into the third and fourth sets versus the Williams Ephs in order to secure wins that forced a fifth set. The team fell short in five as the Ephs grabbed early momentum and in the last set, the Jumbos were unable to recover. Junior middle hitter and co-captain Grace Legris said generally the team needs to work on coming at opponents strong from the start.
“We need to have consistent energy and urgency throughout all sets of each match,” Legris said. “Williams came at us strong the first two sets, and I don’t know if we weren't quite ready for it, but we just weren’t super consistent the whole time.”
Specifically in relation to the fifth set losses, Legris emphasized the importance of energy again.
“We don’t have time to waste, especially in that fifth set since it’s only to 15 points instead of 25,” Legris said. “Making sure we’re starting them with as much focus as we can and as much energy as we can to be able to finish when we’re so close to being done with the game in the fifth.”
In Friday’s game against the Hamilton Continentals, the Jumbos immediately came out with high energy and dynamic momentum, which worked in their favor. The team secured quick wins in three sets to give them another victory against a NESCAC opponent. Legris said the team was in its groove on Friday.
“Our Friday game against Hamilton felt really good — we were able to stay in system and everyone was doing their individual jobs and trusting each other,” Legris said. “Overall, our energy was really high during that game.”
In Wednesday's game against Endicott, the team fought back to earn a fifth set and played a tough back-and-forth battle to the end that fell just short. Desler led both teams with 22 kills on the night and posted an impressive .391 hitting percentage. Senior setter Ariel Zedric and sophomore setter Maddie Yu combined for 62 assists.
Volleyball has another packed weekend in Cousens Gym, facing Coast Guard Academy on Friday at 6 p.m., Trinity (Conn.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Trinity (Texas) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
