Tufts volleyball won both of its games this weekend, taking advantage of two opponents who have struggled against NESCAC competition this year. Heading into the weekend having lost three of their last four NESCAC games over the course of consecutive weekends on the road, the Jumbos got back on track at Cousens Gymnasium with two straight wins on Friday and Saturday. The team now sits in fourth place in the NESCAC, a half-game behind Amherst.
Saturdays match against Middlebury was a closely contested affair in which the Jumbos needed five sets to put the Panthers away. Middlebury took two of the first three sets and was on the brink of victory after going up 25-24 in set four. Tufts staved off defeat by scoring three straight points two on timely kills by junior outside hitter Hayley Hopper to steal the win away.
She was on fire this weekend, freshman Elizabeth Ahrens said of Hopper, who led the team with a season-high 20 kills. No one on Middlebury could stop her.
Thanks to Hoppers excellent play, the Jumbos had the momentum on their side. They used it to their advantage in the decisive final set, scoring ten straight points on their way to a 15-6 win.
Sophomore setter Kyra Baum put up strong numbers in several categories, finishing with a team-high 38 assists, as well as 18 digs and five blocks. Sophomore libero Carolina Berger paced the Jumbos with a team-high 22 digs.
Junior Isabel Kuhel, who notched six kills and seven blocks versus the Panthers, was impressed by her teams comeback.
I was so proud that we were able to continue our energy from the close fourth match through to the fifth and come out strong, Kuhel said. It would have been nice to have that energy throughout the whole match, but this game proved that we can fight through a rough patch and come out on top.
There were no such rough patches on Friday as Tufts swept last-place Hamilton College who is winless against NESCAC competition this year in three sets. The Jumbos set the tone with a convincing 25-12 victory in the first set. They won the second behind an outstanding display of teamwork that saw Kuhel, Hopper and first-year Mary Maccabee contribute four kills apiece. Tufts went on to win the final set 25-20, holding off a late run by Hamilton to clinch its first sweep since Sept. 28th.
That was an important match to start the weekend, Thompson said of the victory. It was important to set the tone for how we wanted to execute this weekend. The team worked hard all week to better our communication on the court and that really paid off.
Hopper led the way in kills, finishing the match with nine, while Maccabee also tacked on six. Berger was the Jumbos leader on defense Friday as well with 15 digs, while junior Rebecca Rubin added 13 of her own.
Next up for the Jumbos is the Hall of Fame Invitational at Springfield, Mass. With two more wins under their belt, they are excited to get back on the court next weekend.
It will be an awesome opportunity to see some other great teams from out of our conference as we prepare for our last regular season weekend, Thompson said. The schedule will be released shortly, and I know our group is excited to get after it and maybe get a rematch or two that we would like to have back.
