In their last games of the regular season, the Tufts women's volleyball team won two back-to-back games against Bowdoin College on Friday and Connecticut College on Saturday. The two victories were decisive, with the Jumbos winning all three sets against both Conn. College and Bowdoin.
The team came into last weekend’s games with both excitement and determination. Senior libero Megan Harrison explained that Bowdoin and Conn. College were both strong competitors, so she was excited about the games.
“We were all really excited because they were really big games in deciding our standings in the NESCAC, and we were excited to play two awesome teams,” Harrison said.
Tufts’s strong showings were due to a uniform focus on both the offense and defense, senior setter Rileigh Farragher explained.
“I think everyone did a good job of staying dialed in during the matches,” Farragher wrote in an email to the Daily. “Defensively, we did a great job of setting up the block and playing around that. Offensively, the setters were moving the ball around really well and keeping all of our hitters involved.”
Throughout both games, the Jumbos kept the Camels and the Polar Bears from any long scoring streaks. Tufts played strong offense with 41 kills against Bowdoin and 34 against Conn. College. Harrison credits the Tufts win to their ability to come back strong even after losing points.
“I think we were super aggressive at the net and our block was very consistent, which was very helpful,” Harrison said. “[We showed] overall consistency — if we got into a rut and the other team got a few points, we were really good at bouncing back and then going on runs as well. I think we were just resilient and consistent.”
Farragher explained that the offense’s power and speed were essential in winning the game.
“I think we did a great job of playing smart and aggressive volleyball.” Farragher wrote. “We didn’t make a lot of errors, and we did a good job of pushing the tempo on offense.”
From the beginning of their game against Bowdoin, Tufts started strong, scoring the first two points. The first set was also especially strong for the Jumbos, with a hitting percentage of 0.429%.
They won the first set 25–14, and continued their strong lead throughout all three sets. Tufts continued their strong showing with a 25–18 second set. The third set was slightly closer with a 25–20 victory for the Jumbos.
Tufts’s victory over Conn. College proved to be even more of a landslide than their game against Bowdoin. The Jumbos won the three sets 25–16, 25–10 and 25–13.
Harrison was happy about how much the team’s defense has improved throughout the season, and is excited to see continued improvement into the postseason.
“We’ve been working really hard on defense at the net and in the back row,” Harrison said. “I think being aggressive on defense and just having the ability to outlast other teams in long rallies is super important for us.”
These two victories were critical for the Jumbos’ positioning in the NESCAC tournament. After last weekend, the Jumbos moved up to No. 5 in the conference.
The Jumbos will start their post-season this weekend with a game against Trinity College on Saturday.
Harrison is looking forward to playing against teams that the Jumbos have played against earlier in the season, noting that the Jumbos’ team chemistry has improved throughout the season.
“I think we’re excited to have another chance to prove ourselves against some of the teams we lost to earlier in the season because we’ve improved a lot, and we really worked on the team chemistry and worked out the kinks,” Harrison said.
Farragher explained the importance of keeping the overall goals for the postseason in mind while also focusing on individual games and skills.
“I definitely want to win another NESCAC championship,” Farragher wrote. “I think we need to take it one game at a time, but I’m really looking forward to these playoff games.”
