After dropping three matches in the Boston Invite on the weekend of Sept. 13, Tufts volleyball eagerly notched victories in their first in-conference matches against Hamilton College and Amherst College.
On the night of Sept. 20, the Jumbos took to Cousens Gymnasium to take on the Hamilton Continentals. With sophomore Claire Castor leading the way with 20 kills, along with 27 assists and 21 digs from sophomore Rianna Liu, the team charged to a 3–0 victory.
“After last week, we did a total 180 in terms of our mindset,” graduate student Christine Audette, who boasted an ace and two blocks, wrote in an email to the Daily. “We put in the work during practice this week and specifically focused on the skills that needed improvements. The team knew coming into this weekend that as long as we controlled what we could control on our side and worked as hard as we could, we’d achieve success.”
Looking to keep their momentum into the next match against the Amherst Mammoths the following day, the Jumbos were confident and ready.
While the afternoon was particularly gloomy, the energy in Cousens was quite the opposite. Throughout the match, team cheers bounced off of the walls, with whistles and buzzers sounding as a small — yet committed — group of fans watched in awe. While the end result was a 3–0 sweep, the team struggled to find their groove in the first set.
After an ace by Liu tied up the score 21–21, the team called their final timeout of the first set and head coach Cora Thompson gave some words of encouragement.
“Although there is always competitive emotion involved in a match, we remind them to stay focused on the controllables and doing their jobs to the best of their ability,” Thompson wrote in an email to the Daily. “We encourage them to continue to communicate, which keeps those important connections alive and well.”
The team took this to heart and were able to close out the first set against Amherst 25–22.
“Our coaches reassured and motivated us by telling us to stay calm in the midst of chaos and reminding us that we hold the power to control the game by using our serve and pass,” Audette wrote. “The team was making unforced errors in the beginning of the first set against Amherst. After listening to our coaches, our servers and passers were locked in so that we were able to be disciplined and engage our offense.”
After being up 11–8 by the first timeout of the second set, Tufts coasted to an eventual 25–16 win, ready to close out Amherst in the last set. The Jumbos won this battle, only allowing 14 points in the third set en route to a sweep of the Mammoths.
Audette and sophomore Emma Heckman led the team with 10 kills each, followed by Castor with nine. Heckman and junior Julia Griffiths also put up five blocks, each one pumping the team up exponentially. All in all, the team put in the work and got the result they were looking for.
“Amherst has a dangerous offense if they are in system and I was proud of how well our team served them which made the biggest difference,” Thompson wrote. “Our servers kept the pressure on their passers… their offensive plans broke down and they were easier to defend.”
The team, a tight community, felt this win to be rewarding. “I am so proud of the team as a whole,” Audette said. “I’m mostly proud of the fight and grit that we showed in pursuing every point. Despite the points or runs the other team had, we always found a way to shift the energy and momentum to the Jumbos’ side of the court. Ultimately, we kept our cool and maintained the mindset that we could only control our game which helped us win in the end.”
Looking ahead, the Jumbos are embarking on a particularly difficult schedule. While Williams College and Middlebury College will prove to be competitive challenges for Tufts in the coming weeks, the team’s priority is their next opponent, Bates College, who they play in Lewiston, Maine on Friday, Sept. 27. The Jumbos haven’t dropped a set to the Bobcats since 2017.
Even with a young team, Audette is certain of a successful season. “We have an excellent handle on doing well in the conference this year,” she said. “Our team has an innate desire to learn and grow with each game, practice and point. We strive to become 1% better every day and are always thinking of the person to our left and right throughout every rep and every point. I think this habit is unique in comparison to other teams; our unity is our strength and individually we are thinking of the team and our common goals. Ultimately, our growth mindset and selflessness are what will help us go far this season.”
