Box Score BRUNSWICK, MAINE - Tufts Volleyball was on the road Saturday in a long awaited rematch versus the Bowdoin Polar Bears. The two sides faced off twice back in 2019 post-season play in which Tufts took the first and secured the NESCAC championship, but Bowdoin struck right back knocking the Jumbos out of the NCAA Tournament. In a hard fought four-setter today, Tufts prevailed in the first of at least two face-offs this season.
Competition began as many expected with each side trading blows staying neck and neck through eight points apiece until the Polar Bears pushed ahead with a couple big spikes by the front line forcing a Jumbos time-out. Coach Cora Thomson must've had the right words to say in the huddle as the 'Bos came out firing off four straight points to take the lead right back.
Tufts and Bowdoin played even through the middle of the first set until the Bears were forced to take a time-out after a big spike from Maya Lightfoot put the brown and blue up 21-19. The Jumbos didn't let up the late-game lead as a couple of attacking errors crippled the Bowdoin comeback effort and Tufts captured the first set 25-21 with 11 kills to Bowdoin's seven.
The matchup remained even to start the second set as the home crowd erupted in cheer from a beautiful fake-set dump over to put Bowdoin up 6-5. This energy didn't faze the visiting Jumbos as they surged to a 6-0 run. The Polar Bears had glimpses of a mid-set comeback including a huge cross court kill by senior Cori Gray, but the Jumbos held strong and started another one of their second-set big runs helping extend the lead to seven. Bowdoin kept pushing back one to two points at a time getting the lead down to two, but ultimately it wasn't enough as Tufts' Jennifer Ryan stood tall blocking the set's final play down onto the home team's court and the Jumbos moved one set closer to clinching the match with their 25-22 win.
Set three told a different story for both teams as the sputtering attack of the home Polar Bears kicked into gear while the outstanding defense played by Tufts fell mercy to an offensive barrage. In an opposite fashion to the set before, Bowdoin was the team to take an early lead with a huge spike from Sophia Paul giving the home team the largest lead they had seen all day. They didn't stop there as they tacked on 18 points to the Jumbos' nine midway through the third set. Tufts got their rhythm back late in the set winning six of the final eight points, only to drop game three by the score of 25-20. The Polar Bears' attack sent across 18 kills in the third set, many of which were by Gray who ended the match with 20.
The Jumbos weren't ready to have a repeat of the last set as they headed into the fourth and, amongst many, Cate Desler shined in the final game. With three kills, a handful of digs, two huge blocks on back-to-back points, and consistent serving through the set, Desler pushed Tufts out to an early lead. Jumbo sophomore Rileigh Farragher made a big fourth-set impact with a quick kill, keeping the energy high as the Jumbos went up 15-10 and they never looked back winning the final set 25-16.
The story of today's match couldn't be told without mentioning Tufts' setters Ariel Zedric and Maddie Yu (pictured), who had 18 and 16 assists respectively. Lightfoot's 10 kills led Tufts, while Yu also served four aces. Desler's 14 digs and three blocks (two solo) led Tufts defensively.
Twelve digs by Ella Haugen and four solo blocks from Lauren Lange led Bowdoin (4-3, 2-1 NESCAC) defensively.
In addition to today's conference match, Tufst (7-2, 2-1 NESCAC) will face Bowdoin at home in non-conference play on October 12.
Tufts aims to back up the win later in the day versus Maine Maritime in a match to be played at Bowdoin. The Polar Bears hope to bounce back against the same opponent Saturday evening.
Written by Leo Freund, Athletic Communications Intern
