Teams: Volleyball: Schedule & Results

TUFTS CLINCHES SECOND STRAIGHT #1 SEED IN NESCAC TOURNAMENT

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 3, Amherst 1  (25-16, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24)

At Amherst, MA
Saturday, October 31, 2009

Match Statistics

Audrey Kuan was the defensive leader with 29 digs as Tufts clinched the #1 seed

AMHERST -- For the second straight year, the Tufts University volleyball team will be the host and #1 seed for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship. Coach Cora Thompson's Jumbos earned the right with a four-set victory at Amherst College in the last match of the regular season on Saturday.

Tufts locked up the top-seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament with 25-16, 20-25, 25-16, and 26-24 set wins against the Lord Jeffs. Tufts (26-3 overall) finished 8-2 in NESCAC. Williams and Connecticut College also had 8-2 records, but the Jumbos defeated both squads head-to-head. Amherst (19-7, 6-4 NESCAC) will be the sixth seed in the tournament.

Midway through the first set at Amherst, the two teams sat tied at 12-12, before Tufts opened up a 19-14 lead to force an Amherst time-out. After the break, Tufts scored three straight points to take a commanding 22-14 lead, en route to a 25-16 win on an unassisted kills by sophomore Lexi Nicholas (San Diego, CA). In the first set, juniors Caitlin Updike (Manhattan Beach, CA) and Dawson Joyce-Mendive (Minden, NV) combined for nine kills to lead the Jumbos, while Amhersts hitters had just eight kills in the frame.

The second set was a different story for the Lord Jeffs, as Amherst started out on 5-1 rally. During the strong start, Amherst sophomore Katherine Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, CA) served up a pair of aces, while classmate Cristy Meier (San Anselmo, CA) had a nice tip kill. A kill by junior tri-captain Jackie Berkley (Fullerton, CA) put Amherst up 11-6, and forced Tufts to use a time-out. Later in the set, a hitting error by Tufts first-year Brittany Neff (Culver City, CA) caused Tufts to call another time-out trailing 17-11.

Down 20-15, junior Nancy Shrodes (Manhattan Beach, CA) came off the bench to serve for Tufts after service errors had tripped up the Jumbos. Tufts scored on back-to-back Shrodes serves, before another Berkley kill put Amherst ahead 21-17. The Jeffs went on to win 25-20 on a punishing kill by Meier that caromed off a Tufts player all the way to the back scoreboard.

Early in the third frame, Tufts took an 8-4 lead as the Jumbo hitters scored multiple points on off-speed tip kills, while the Lord Jeff front line struggled to find their rhythm from set two. The Jumbos extended their lead to 17-12, forcing Amherst head coach Sue Everden to use another time-out. Tufts ended the third set on an 8-4 run as the combination of Updike and senior co-captain Brogie Helgeson (Santa Cruz, CA) took over down the stretch. With the 25-16 win, the Jumbos took a 2-1 lead and inched closer to clinching the top-seed in the NESCAC Tournament.

Amherst turned the tables to start the fourth set, taking a 13-9 lead as first-year Emily Waterhouse (Sherman Oaks, CA) dished out a pair of assists during a mid-set run to keep the Jeffs in front. Tufts drew even at 14-14 on a clever kill by Joyce-Mendive, before going up 18-16 as Joyce-Mendive had eight kills on just nine attacks midway through the set. Amherst responded with big kills from Laura Hyman and Kanoff, closing the gap to one point, before drawing even at 22-22 on a Tufts hitting error. The Lord Jeffs tied the game again at 24-24 on back-to-back kills from Meier, before a Tufts kill and an Amherst hitting error sealed the win 26-24 for the Jumbos.

For the Jumbos, Updike had a team-high 22 kills, while Joyce-Mendive added 19 kills on just 35 attacks. Senior setter Dena Feiger (Long Grove, IL) dished out 55 assists for Tufts, while sophomore libero Audrey Kuan (Los Altos, CA) had a match-high 29 digs.

On the day, Amherst was led by Berkley who was superb with 13 kills and no errors on just 20 attacks. Meier and Laura Hyman (Glencoe, IL) combined for 20 additional kills, while Kanoff chipped in with seven kills. Katherine Jordan (Los Altos Hills, CA) dished out 36 assists with 13 digs for Amherst, while Rachel Yorke (Los Angeles, CA) had a team-high 15 kills.

The 2009 NESCAC Championship Tournament will take place November 6-8 at Tufts University's newly refurbished Cousens Gymnasium.

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