MEDFORD, MA (November 11, 2022) -- The Tufts University volleyball squad was able to shake off losses in the third and fourth set to visiting Babson College, powering back to take the fifth set to earn a hard-fourth 3-2 win over the Beavers in the NCAA Second Round from Cousens Gymnasium Friday evening.

With the win, Tufts (23-6) will take on Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the NCAA Regional Final at 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon after the Engineers knocked off the University of Scranton in Friday's other Second Round matchup. Tufts won Friday's match with scores of 25-19, 28-26, 15-25, 16-25 and 15-9. 

The first set went in favor of Tufts with a score of 25-19. Grace Legris for Tufts was able to find her way through the defense to earn two early kills for her team and gave them the 10-5 lead in the set. The Jumbos forced the timeout as they gained the six-point lead from some great service by Jennelle Yarwood.

Babson was battling their way back into the set as Olivia Leinenweber scored an ace for the Beavers. A late push in the set by Babson was shut down by Rileigh Farragher who put the finishing touch on the set giving her side the 1-0 match lead. 
 
Tufts and Babson would play a thriller in the second set, as the frame featured 19 tie scores and 13 lead changes. The Jumbos earned the first set point of the period at 24-23 after a kill from Grace Legris but back-to-back points by the Beavers gave Babson set point at 25-24. The two teams would exchange points until 27-26, when Christine Audette hammered home a kill to double Tuft's lead to 2-0. 



The momentum started to shift in the third set as the Beavers (22-9) hit .467 in the period while Tufts went cold offensively to cut the Jumbos lead to 2-1. In the fourth set, things were close early in the period but Babson once again stifled the hosts attacking efforts to sent the match to a fifth set. 
 
In the final set, Yarwood showed her experience as a senior putting her team ahead with two quick kills. Tufts had their home gym loud as they took an early 5-1 lead in the set. Lauren Gips fought her team back into the set with two big kills to cut the deficit in half. The Jumbos took the lead 8-5 at the switch thanks to another kill from Maya Lightfoot. Tufts wouldn't trail in the final set, as Yarwood clinched the match with her 16th and final kill of the night. 

Yarwood had another monster game and has played well in the NCAA Regional, as she posted 16 kills on 46 attempts, adding 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the campaign. Stephanie Lee led the team with 27 digs and 23 receptions without an error, while Zoe Gregory handed out 13 assists and added four aces. 

Maddie Yu had another strong game for Tufts, leading the way with 27 assists and 17 digs, and Audette finished the night with seven kills and eight digs. Megan Harrison came into the game late as a defensive replacement and was strong, passing her 10 chances perfectly while adding four digs. 

Legris totaled seven kills and a team-high five blocks, while Cora Cunningham totaled six kills and four blocks. Rileigh Farragher was solid on the right side with 10 terminations, as the Jumbos hit .131 for the match. 

Babson got 15 kills and a match-high eight blocks from Gips, while Izzy Seebold posted 42 assists and four blocks. Isabella Allen and Martina Jankovic Chin both finished with double-digit kills, registering 11 and 13 kills, respectively. 

The Jumbos will be looking to get back to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second straight season and the fourth time overall, which will be held November 16-19 in UPMC Cooper Field House in Pittsburgh, PA.