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Teams: Volleyball: Team
Overview
Tufts
University Volleyball has developed into one of the most consistently successful
programs in New England under Coach Cora Thompson. Since the 2004 season, Tufts
has compiled an outstanding 80-21 record for a .792 winning percentage. Also in
that span, the Jumbos have posted a 25-4 record in New England Small College
Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
Despite being devastated by injures last season, the Jumbos were 23-8 overall
and were fourth in the competitive NESCAC with a 7-3 mark. Thompson earned the
100th victory over her young career during the season, and currently has a
stellar 120-45 mark (.727) during five seasons at the helm. A four-year member
of the team and an assistant coach after graduating from Tufts in 1999, Thompson
has enthusiastically guided the Jumbos to their current place among the regions
best.
The 2005 season was the best season in team history. Tufts reached the Sweet
16 of the NCAA Tournament and set a school record for wins with a 29-7 overall
record. They were the runner-up during the conference season with a 9-1 record
for the second straight year, and were also the NESCAC Tournament runner-up for
the second consecutive season.
Thompson recruits nationally to bring the best talent to Tufts. Last fall,
outside hitter Kelli Harrison from California and middle hitter Katie Wysham
from Washington state were on the All-Regional team. Harrison was also
recognized as an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III
Honorable Mention All-American. It marked the fourth straight year that the
Jumbos had an All-American on their roster.
As members of NESCAC, Tufts plays in the nations most competitive small college
conference academically and athletically. The NESCAC is a group of highly
selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share an academics-first
philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. Volleyball players at Tufts have
consistently received recognition for their academic efforts. Along with the
honors she received for her play on the court last fall, Wysham was also named
to the NESCAC All-Academic Team in 2006.
Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate
experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus,
Tufts is a major university with an unprecedented diversity of programs,
exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students, according to
President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program
of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAAs Division III.
Tufts finished sixth in the 2006 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, the award
presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the
country. The Universitys proximity to a world-class city renowned for its
academic institutions is also a major draw.
Thompson has been associated with the Volleyball program for 12 years since
coming to Tufts from Half Moon Bay, California in 1995. A defensive specialist
for the Jumbos, she was a sophomore on the 1996 Tufts team that qualified for
the NCAA Tournament. She also played in three NCAA Tournaments as a four-year
starter at shortstop on the softball team. She earned her master's in education
from Tufts in 2001.
This is the 27th season of Tufts Volleyball. Since gaining varsity status in
1981, the Jumbo program has built a solid reputation in New England by playing a
competitive schedule and regularly qualifying for the post-season. Along with
NESCAC competitors Colby, Williams and Amherst, Tufts plays regional powerhouses
MIT, Coast Guard and Wellesley on a yearly basis. The team has posted just two
losing seasons in its history and each year the Jumbos aspire to be the best in
New England.
The 2007 Tufts schedule includes a season-opening trip to California to play in
the Pacific Coast Classic. The team will host its fourth annual invitational at
historic Cousens Gymnasium. With its arched roof and bench seating, Cousens is
one of New England's oldest and most charming sites for indoor sports. During
the summer 2005 it was featured in the NCAA News as a One of a kind facility.
Second-year graduate assistant coach Marritt Cafarchia was a scholarship player
at Division I University of California-Davis. A setter and defensive specialist,
she was co-captain of the Aggies as a senior.
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