Amherst came out determined to win against a slow-to-start Tufts team. Sophomore Cristy Meier and junior tri-captain Jackie Berkley kicked off the match with two kills each, along with two service aces from first-year Callie Nielson. Coupled with the Firedogs’ aggressive start were numerous early hitting mistakes from the Jumbos, but Tufts battled back to tie it at 18 all. A brief run by the Jumbos gave Amherst a bit of a challenge, but Meier’s clinched the first set, 26-24, with another kill, one of 13 she tallied in the match.
The second set was a tighter battle, with the two teams trading point for point. A brief Amherst run led by sophomore Katherine Kanoff forced a Tufts time-out, but the Jumbos jumped right back into the game with a 7-1 run to tie things up at 13. The second set turned into a defensive battle, with digs coming left and right. The Amherst defensive was led by tri-captain libero Rachel Yorke ’11, who led all players with 40 digs in the match. However, the Jumbos were able to tough it out and take the second set 20-25.
The Firedogs came blazing out the gate to begin the third set. Amherst quickly seized the lead and never let it go for the duration of the set, taking the third set in a dominating 25-15. Berkley, Neilson and junior Laura Hyman each racked up blocks to give Amherst a 12-point advantage. Hyman would tally two of her five blocks and several kills in the third set victory, while Neilson ruled the floor, dishing out assists. Nielson tallied 50 assists overall in the match.
However, Tufts showed why they were the first-seed team and fought back in the face of elimination to take the final two sets and the match. In the fourth set, the Jumbos jumped out to an early lead and eventually ended the set on a 7-1 run to force a fifth set. The Firedogs, tripped up by the upset in the fourth set, lost their rhythm in the fifth. Twice in the fifth frame Amherst found its score doubled by the Jumbos, and although Meier fought hard to keep the team in the game, firing home two kills in the final set, Tufts walked away with the victory, taking the final set 8-15.
Although disappointed by the loss, Berkley was glad that the team was able to end the season playing strong volleyball.
“Anyone who watched that game could tell you that the Firedogs left it all out on the court,” Berkley stated. “Yes, it’s disappointing and yes, we had opportunities to take that match from the number one seed, but we went out on such a high note after a season of battling so many external factors. We went out playing the best volleyball of the year.”
Berkley added that the Firedogs made a strong showing this season in one of the region’s most difficult leagues.
“Seven of the eight teams in the NESCAC tournament were over .500 so the weekend was very competitive and made for some exciting match ups.”
Setter Katherine Jordan ’11 agreed with Berkley, and is already anticipating how this season will reflect next year’s competition.
“This year, the NESCAC is the most competitive league in New England for volleyball,” Jordan commented. “You can see that by the fact that the league winner of NEWMAC lost to many NESCAC teams. There were many upsets this year, so next year we cannot take any team for granted- everyone is fighting for the NESCAC title. Williams has won the NESCAC title three years in a row and it is definitely time to change that.”
Berkley is already confident for next season, citing the fact that this young Amherst team, which is losing only one player to graduation, got a lot of experience together on and off the court.
“Looking forward to next season, I don’t think any team building will be in order because we all work together so well,” Berkley said. “I think perhaps key to our success next season will be finding early on that intensity that always seemed to show itself in the fifth games and at the very end of the season. We’re all very sad that this season is over, and we will miss the life of our team, Bethany [Belisle], so much. We peaked at the right time and it’s unfortunate that we can’t still be playing the game we love.”