Teams: Volleyball: Press Releases

Friday, November 12, 2004
Written by Lee Kellogg

HARRISON AND MACY ARE NEW ENGLAND VOLLEYBALL ALL-STARS

MEDFORD -- After a fantastic season in which the Jumbos finished 28-5 overall and 9-1 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), two of the team's finest athletes have been recognized for their contributions. Sophomore Kelli Harrison (Blue Jay, CA/Rim of the World HS) was named First Team All-New England by the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA), while senior co-captain Emily Macy (Henderson, NV/Green Valley) was given Second Team honors.

Harrison, given honorable mention by NEWVA as a freshman last fall, has done nothing but improve over the past year. An outside hitter, she made her presence felt in each match throughout the season, recording 396 kills and 415 digs in 2004 with a .309 hitting percentage. She also had the third best block total on the team with 66. Clearly, her impressive numbers over almost every category made her an easy pick for the All-New England team.

She came out swinging from the start this year, scoring 35 kills and 49 digs in the team's first day of competition in three matches at the Coast Guard Invitational. She never slowed down, and would stay aggressive over the next two months. A pair of great performances came in the Hall of Fame Invitational in late October against Wellesley and Springfield. These two teams had each dealt Tufts one of the team's three losses at the time. Harrison made sure that the Jumbos came out on top the second time around as she made her contribution with 34 kills and 31 digs over the two matches.

Macy was also a huge factor in those wins with 42 digs. Averaging a team-leading 4.27 digs per game, she made her final season as a Jumbo one to remember. Voted a co-captain before the season, her contribution to the 2004 season went beyond the numbers as she helped develop the relatively young team into a winning one. Macy was certainly the most consistent defensive force on the team, recording double-digit dig totals in all but four matches. Her season-high came at an opportune time, a 31-dig effort in a NESCAC tournament match against Amherst to secure the Jumbos' final win of the season. Digging 65 over the team's three-game tournament run drove her total to 491.

Macy's dominant season was a perfect ending to a great career, and it is fitting that her outstanding performance was recognized this week by NEWVA. Her defensive expertise as well as her leadership will be missed next season. Luckily for Tufts, Harrison will be back for two more years. Although it may be hard to imagine, should she continue her current trend of improvement, she may prove to be even more important for the Jumbos over the next couple seasons than she has been to this point.

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