Box Score BEVERLY, Mass. – The Tufts volleyball team opened up a busy Saturday with a 3-0 win over WPI at Endicott on Saturday afternoon. The Jumbos were led by a 12 kill and four block appearance from sophomore Heather Holz. The sophomore middle hitter finished with a .556 hitting percentage, as the 12 kills came in 18 attempts with just two errors.
The win helps the Jumbos improve to 14-4 with the win as WPI falls to 8-14 with the setback.
The Engineers took an early lead in the first set, scoring six points behind the serve of Kate Amrein to take an early 6-1 lead. The Jumbos answered with five points behind the serve of junior Angela Yu to tie things at six. The two teams would trade points and the lead a bit, but with things locked at nine the Jumbos got two kills from Holz and then an ace from sophomore Rachel Furash to take the 12-9 lead. They would hold on to that lead for the duration of the set, picking up a 25-17 win.
The second set was the closest of the match. The Jumbos took the early lead, scoring four straight points behind the serve of sophomore Kelly Klimo. WPI answered with a run of their own, scoring six points off Ann Kaczowka's serve to take a small lead. The two teams would then battle back and forth a bit. The Engineers were up 18-14 when the Jumbos got two kills from sophomore Christina Nwankpa, a couple of WPI errors and a kill from junior Mackenzie Bright to take a lead of their own 19-18. The lead then went back and forth, but with things locked at 22 the Jumbos got two aces from Klimo and a WPI error to pick up the 25-22 win in set two.
In the third set the Jumbos were able to build a lead early, scoring eight points with sophomore Rachel Furash serving for the 11-3 advantage. That deficit was something the Engineers could not overcome and the Jumbos sealed the match win with a 25-11 win in set three.
Holz was the offensive leader with 12 kills, and Nwankpa finished with eight kills and two blocks. Sophomore Maddie Stewart added seven kills as did classmate Brigid Bell. Defensively, Klimo totaled 17 digs. The Jumbos finished with 12 service aces, Furash turning in four of those. Yu and Furash took care of the setting, each finishing with 18 assists.
Sarah Kwatinetz led the Engineer offense with six kills and Melissa Daigle helped with five as Amrein turned in four kills. Defensively Casey Hunt finished with eight digs and Victoria Nassar helped with seven. Azita Bakhtyari ran the offense, turning in 18 assists.
The Jumbos are back in action later in the day when they take on host Endicott for a 4:30 pm start. WPI will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Wheaton for a 7 pm start.
