Box Score HOBOKEN, NJ - The Tufts volleyball team hit a blistering .344 as the Jumbos won their opening match of the 2014 NCAA Tournament in dominating fashion over Springfield College on Friday afternoon. Tufts won in straight sets 25-12, 25-11, 25-15.
The Jumbos, who finished with 41 kills and just 10 errors in 90 swings, will play the winner of the Clarkson versus Hunter match in the second round tomorrow at 3:30 pm. Stevens Institute of Technology is hosting the Regional at Canavan Arena.
> Watch Tufts Post-Match Interview
> Watch Springfield Post-Match Interview
Tufts senior tri-captain Isabel Kuhel did not make an error while recording 12 kills in 17 attempts for an incredible .706 hitting percentage in the match. Senior tri-captain Hayley Hopper finished with 11 kills and four errors in 24 tries for a .292 percentage. Junior Maddie Kuppe was the third Jumbo in double-digits for kills with 10 and two errors in 24 attempts (.333).
For the three sets, Tufts went 13-3-26 for .385 success in the opener, 12-3-33 for a .273 mark in the second and 16-4-31 for a .387 percentage to close it out.
On the other side, Springfield would finish with more errors (20) than kills (16). The Pride were led by five kills from Elise Brogan and four by Kelsey McGayhey.
Springfield had defeated Tufts in five sets at the MIT Invitational on September 13. The Pride also ended Tufts' season last fall in NCAA's with a 3-1 second-round final.
That would not be the case today. The Pride did score the first two points of the match, but the Jumbos would quickly pull away. Tied at 4-4, Tufts scored seven of the next eight to lead 11-5. Springfield would close to 15-12, but Tufts slammed the door by scoring the final 10 points of the set. Kuppe's five kills led Tufts in the opener while junior Carolina Berger had five digs defensively.
After scoring the first four of the second match, Tufts was ahead 6-4 when they rallied for the next nine to take a 15-4 lead. The Jumbos led by double-digits the rest of the way. Six kills by Hopper and five digs from Kuppe were the top numbers of the middle set. Amy Entel had five digs for Springfield.
The Pride would earn their first lead since the opening two points at 5-4 in the third set. Tufts would surge to a 13-7 advantage on a kill by Kuppe, but the Pride pulled within 16-13 as Clare Henry served an ace. However, the Jumbos went on another run, this time of seven straight points led by two kills each from Kuhel and Hopper for a 23-14 lead. Kuhel finished off the match with a kill to finish the third set with six and no errors on seven attempts.
Kuhel also served three aces, added four digs and had a solo block with two assists in the match. Junior setter Kyra Baum had 32 assists in the three sets while Berger led Tufts with 10 digs.
Entel's 10 digs led the Springfield defense.
The win was the 13th in the last 14 matches for Tufts, who improve to 22-8 overall. Playing in the eighth NCAA Tournament in program history, the Jumbos are now 8-6 overall in the national tournament.
Springfield finished its season at 20-11.
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