WILLIAMSTOWN, MA (October 14, 2022) -- The Tufts University volleyball team dropped the opening set at Williams College Friday, but battled back to knock off the Ephs 3-1 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action from Chandler Gymnasium. Tufts earned the win with scores of 23-25, 25-13, 25-15 and 25-22.
The victory for the Jumbos was their sixth straight in conference action, as Tufts moved to 12-4 and 6-1 in the NESCAC. Tufts finished with a .264 hitting percentage for the evening, including connecting for a clip over .240 in each of the last three sets in earning the victory.
After falling in a tight opening set, the Jumbos came out and took a quick 4-0 lead in the second stanza. Tufts cruised to the victory to tie things up, leading the entire set as they hit .303 for the period while holding Williams to just eight kills. The third set was much of the same, as the visiting Jumbos hammered down 15 kills to take a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth set, the two teams batted back and fourth as the score was deadlocked tied at 20-20 after a kill by
Cora Cunningham. Two more points put the Jumbos up 22-20, followed by an attack error and kill from
Christine Audette gave Tufts match point at 24-20. Williams responded with two points but
Maya Lightfoot chalked up a kill to secure the victory.
Senior Jannelle Yarwood had a monster contest in the win, as she finished with a career-high 20 kills on 45 attempts, adding eight digs. Audette also posted 10 kills and 13 digs, hitting .364 for the match, while
Rileigh Farragher registered 10 terminations.
Middle hitter
Grace Legris also had eight kills on 17 attempts, and
Stephanie Lee chalked up a season-best 23 digs.
Maddie Yu posted a season-high 36 assists, also collecting nine assists and two aces, while
Zoe Gregory finished with 11 assists, four digs and two aces.
Celia Adams totaled 17 kills in the loss for the Ephs, while Christina Conforti also added a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs for Williams.
Tufts will take on Amherst College Saturday at 2 PM in NESCAC action in Amherst, MA at LeFrak Gymnasium.
--JUMBOS--
