Box Score 
MEDFORD – Tufts held off match point for Wesleyan four times in the fourth set, but the Cardinals won a close fifth set to defeat the Jumbos in a NESCAC volleyball match Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym.
Visiting Wesleyan led 2-1 heading into what would be an incredible fourth set. A 20-17 lead for the Jumbos was the largest of the set. The teams went back and forth until Tufts forced a fifth set with a 34-32 win. Then in the fifth, the Jumbos rallied from an 8-3 deficit to tie it at 11-11 before the Cardinals clinched the win with a 15-13 final.
In the dramatic fourth set, Tufts was down 25-24, 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27. Kills by Cate Desler and Cora Cunningham (pictured) helped keep the Jumbos in the match. Jennifer Ryan had two kills down the stretch and Cunningham's kill finally won the set for Tufts.
In the fifth set, the teams were tied 13-13 until Wesleyan's Maddie Kurke had a kill and a Tufts error finished out the match.
Desler's 22 kills led Tufts, while Jennelle Yarwood (13) and Ryan (12) were both in double-digits. Ariel Zedric with 33 assists and Maddie Yu with 21 combined to set the Jumbo offense as usual. Yu and Stephanie Lee both recorded 24 digs, while Tufts' 14 blocks overall featured Maya Lightfoot with eight assists, Ryan with seven and Cunningham at six.
Kurke with 18 kills, Bella Ahearn with 17 and Smith with 16 were a strong trio for the visitors. Grace Dennis had 43 assists. Defensively, Jenna Otaola had a match-high 28 assists and Dennis added 14. Kurke and Mariko Tanaka each had three block assists.
Wesleyan scored six of the last seven points to win the first set 25-20, with each point coming on Tufts errors. The Jumbos regrouped and steamrolled to a 25-11 second-set victory. Yarwood had three kills in the match, while Maya Lightfoot and Cunningham combined on blocks for Tufts' final three points. Kurke's kill gave Wesleyan a 20-15 lead in set three, but Tufts came back to close within 22-21. A Jumbo service error and two more kills by Kurke earned Wes a 25-21 set victory, leading to the dramatic finish.
