MEDFORD, MA (September 15, 2023) -- The No. 19 Tufts University volleyball squad hosted No. 18 Wesleyan University Friday night in a rematch of the 2022 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title match, but Friday would go the other way than last year's championship match as the Cardinals bested Tufts 3-0 in straight sets with scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 25-23.
Tufts (2-3) came out of the gate hitting well, as it chalked up 16 kills to just the 12 in the opening set from Wesleyan (5-0). The Cardinals though forced seven attack errors by the Jumbos in the first stanza, while also recording four service errors. The set was tight throughout, as
Rianna Liu tied the match with a dig that sailed over the net into an empty corner for a kill to deadlock the set at 19. Wesleyan responded out of a timeout with three four straight points to pull away for the 1-0 match edge.
The second set was much of the same as the young Jumbos squad looked for combinations in the lineup that could contain the potent middle attack of the Cardinals. Tufts was within two points of Wesleyan for the majority of the second set, but the visitors pulled away late in the stanza to take a 2-0 lead in the contest. Michelle Jorba led all hitters in the set with four kills, while Sophia Lindus added two kills and two aces for the Cardinals. Tufts saw
Tori Goldin and
Rileigh Farragher each tally three terminations apiece in the second.
In the final set, both teams battled as there were 12 tie scores and seven lead changes in the period. Tufts led by as many as four points at 14-10 after a block by
Alina Qi and Goldin, but Wesleyan slowly went on a run to take a 17-16 lead on a kill by Kathryn Morton. Tufts remained close but with the score tied at 22, Lindus started and ended a 3-1 run to end the match.
The Jumbos were paced by the nine kills apiece from Goldin, as she added five digs, and first-year
Claire Castor tallied seven kills and 11 digs. Senior libero
Megan Harrison finished with a double-double of 14 digs and 11 assists, and Liu finished with a double-double as well of 18 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore setter
Zoe Gregory registered 13 assists, and Farragher tallied eight kills on the night. Tufts hit .195 (46-23-118) for the night, while outscoring Wesleyan 53-47 on the night. The difference was the 23 attacking errors for Tufts to just the 12 from the Cardinals.
Wesleyan was led by the nine terminations from Lindus, and setter Ali Landa added 20 assists and six digs. Bianca Ortiz also produced 13 digs in the match.
Tufts will be right back in action Saturday afternoon, hosting Trinity College (Conn.) at 2 p.m. in NESCAC play in Cousens Gymnasium.
--JUMBOS--
