Tufts Overcomes Bates 3-1 in Volleyball Quarterfinals
Courtes Tufts Sports Information
MEDFORD, MASS. - Top seed Tufts advanced to the semifinal round of the 2008 NESCAC Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 victory over Bates College in the quarterfinals on Friday night at Cousens Gymnasium. Tufts will face Williams in the first semifinal on Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos (28-2) were put to the test by #8 seed Bates (15-18). After Tufts won the first match easily by a 25-12 score, Bates turned the tables in the second set scoring a 25-12 win. The next two sets were close. The Jumbos scored five straight points in the middle of the third set for a 20-13 lead that ended in a 25-16 win. Tufts held a slim 22-21 lead late in the fourth set before scoring three of the final four points to win the match with a 25-22 fourth set final.
The Jumbos, ranked #1 in New England, advance to play in the tournament semi-finals on Saturday afternoon against Williams, a 3-1 winner over Middlebury on Friday night. The semi-final is set for 1:00 Saturday at Cousens Gym.
Tufts spread it around offensively against Bates, led by nine kills from sophomore Dawson Joyce-Mendive (Minden, Nev.). Three others had at least seven kills. The Jumbos got two service aces apiece from first-year Cara Spieler (Santa Barbara, Pa.) and senior tri-captain Stacy Filocco (Olney, Md.), who served a string of nine straight points in the first set. On defense, 16 digs by senior tri-captain Natalie Goldstein (Piedmont, Calif.) led the way, while junior setter Dena Feiger (Long Grove, Ill.) had nine digs and three block assists to go with 40 set assists.
Bates finished its season well against a Tufts team that went 10-0 in the conference season. Junior Tess Dokus (Salem, Conn.) and senior Beth Billington were on offensively, combining for 20 kills with just one error. Dokus led with 12. First-year Olivia Schow (Costa Mesa, Calif.) contributed three service aces. The Bobcats served 10 aces overall. On defense, junior Liz Leberman (Concord, N.H.) handled 39 pass attempts with just three errors and added 17 digs. Dokus and Billington were also in on three blocks each.
