Box Score
MEDFORD – The Tufts volleyball team had a busy week and a busy weekend, and they finished that week and weekend off on a high note on Saturday afternoon, topping Brandeis in straight sets for their fourth win of the week and third in the last two days. The Jumbos topped Colby earlier in the day in Cousens Gym on Homecoming in Medford.
The Jumbos move to 13-4 on the season, with a 4-2 record in conference play. The Judges, who fell to Colby before facing off with the Jumbos, are now 3-16 overall with a 0-3 mark in conference tilts.
The Jumbos opened up strong ,and after exchanging points to open up the first set, the Jumbos jumped out to a 14-2 lead with 13 straight points behind the serve of senior Kyra Baum. The streak ended with a service error by Baum. Brandeis scored a point here and there, but the Jumbos moved to a 25-4 win in set one.
Set two was the exact opposite, as it was close for most of the match. The score was tied ten times, as the Jumbos and the Judges traded the lead for the duration of the set. With the score tied at 20, the Jumbos got a kill from senior Maddie Kuppe and two errors on the Judges to move to a 25-20 win.
In set three things were similar. The score was tied four times early in the match, but the Jumbos scored four points behind the serve of senior co-captain Carolina Berger to move out to a 14-10 lead. The Judges never gave up, and never let the Jumbos lead by more than six. But, it was the home team that was able to hold on to the lead and pick up the 25-20 win in set three.
Kuppe was once again the offensive leader for the Jumbos, turning in 13 kills and six digs. Kuppe finished the week with 52 kills, seven aces, 56 digs and five blocks. Junior Elizabeth Ahrens added six kills, and rookie Mackenzie Bright had five kills. Baum and freshman Angela Yu split the setting duties, and Baum finished with 17 assists while Yu had nine.
Defensively, things were pretty even across the board. Baum had seven digs, and sophomore Alex Garrett, Kuppe and Berger all added six. Baum finished with two of the Jumbos five service aces. Ahrens finished with four blocks to bring her week total to 15.
For the Judges, Zara Platt was the offensive leader with six kills, while Kirsten Frauens added four kills. Marlee Nork took care of the setting for the Judges, finishing with ten assists, while Allison Harmsworth added five assists. Defensively, Yvette Cho added 12 digs and Grace Krumpack turned in eight of her own. Frauens also added two blocks.
The Judges will be back in action when they take on Rochester on Saturday at 10:30 am at the UAA Round Robin #2. The Judges have four matches scheduled at the Round Robin hosted by Case Western Reserve. The Jumbos take the court again at home on Friday when they host Wesleyan for a 7 pm start.
Match Photos by Alonso Nichols / Tufts
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