Jumbo Volleyball Wins Two at Brandeis Invitational to Get 2013-14 Year Underway

First-year Elizabeth Ahrens made five blocks in her first collegiate match

WALTHAM - The Tufts volleyball team was the first Jumbo squad in action for the 2013-14 year on Friday night with two matches at the Brandeis Invitational. Head coach Cora Thompson's squad started strong with a three-set victory against Emmanuel and a four-set win over Rhode Island College.

The Jumbos (2-0) rolled past Emmanuel (1-5) in the tournament-opening match 25-10, 25-12, 25-14. In an 8 pm match, Tufts emerged out of a 1-1 stalemate against the Anchorwomen (0-7) to dominate the third and fourth sets. The Jumbos won 25-14, 21-25, 25-9, 25-11.

Junior Hayley Hopper (Carlsbad, CA) led Tufts with 11 kills and just one error in 20 attempts for a stellar .500 percentage against Emmanuel. Classmate Isabel Kuhel (Brisbane, CA) contributed nine kills with one error on 15 swings for a .533 mark. In her first start, sophomore setter Kyra Baum (Boca Raton, FL) finished with 36 assists in the three sets and served four aces. The Jumbos had 15 aces overall, including four more by Hopper. Defensively, first-year Elizabeth Ahrens (Richmond, VA) was in on five blocks (three solos).

First-year Cassie Cruscielski (Duluth, MN) led the Emmanuel offense in their opening match vs. Tufts with her six kills, while junior Cara Callahan (Medway, MA) led the defense with 10 digs.

In the Rhode Island College match, Tufts first-year Mary Maccabee (River Edge, NJ) led offensively with seven kills and no errors in 11 attempts (.636). Eight Jumbos contributed kills overall. Senior tri-captain Virginia Clay (Santa Clara, CA) served five aces, while sophomore Carolina Berger (Fort Lauderdale, FL) paced Tufts with 13 digs.

Rhode Island College statistics were not readily available.

Tufts continues with two matches tomorrow at Brandeis. The Jumbos face the host Judges (1-1) at noon and then follow-up with their final match of the weekend against Wellesley (1-0) starting at 2 pm.

The Tufts match against Brandeis will be webcast at http://www.brandeis.edu/streaming/athletics/.

Emmanuel match statistics

Rhode Island College match statistics

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