ST. LOUIS, MO (September 6, 2024) -- Sophomore
Emma Heckman had a time-high 10 kills, while classmate
Rianna Liu posted 22 assists and 13 digs to lead the Tufts University volleyball squad to a three-set victory over Colorado College in the first of three matches at the East to West Classic, hosted by Washington University of St. Louis.
Tufts earned the win with scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-18. Both teams came into the contest receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 poll.
The Jumbos used their script once again from a season-opening win over WPI, serving well all match while limiting unforced mistakes and playing strong defense. Tufts posted a 12-4 edge in service aces for the match, while also chalking up a 9-4 edge in blocks and a 53-44 digs lead.
The first set saw the Jumbos lead for most of the set, taking a six-point edge at 14-8 after an ace from sophomore
Akpevwe Akpoigbe to force a Tigers (1-6) timeout. Colorado College went on a five-point spurt to pull to within one but Tufts tallied seven of the set's next nine points to regain control. After CC tallied to make it 21-16, Akpoigbe tallied two kills followed by two aces from Heckman to seal the set for the Jumbos.
Tufts hit .241 in the first set, while also getting eight assists and four digs from Liu.
The second set was closer with five tie scores, but the Jumbos put together a 9-1 run after the set was tied at 10 to pull away for the win. During the stretch,
Julia Griffiths had a kill and block, while Heckman posted two terminations. In all, Tufts got three kills apiece in the stanza from Griffiths,
Claire Castor and Heckman.
In the third set, Tufts forced Colorado College into eight errors hitting, while Griffiths posted four more kills to provide the offense in the victory.
Tufts hit .229 for the night, tallying 37 kills on 105 swings. Heckman recorded her match-best 10 terminations on 20 attempts, posting three digs, three aces and three blocks as well. Griffiths finished with a career-high seven kills, adding three blocks, while Akpoigbe also finished with a career-highs of six kills, four ace and six blocks.
Liu had a strong night with 22 assists on 47 sets, adding 13 digs for the double-double. First-year
Dylan Whisenant picked up a career-high 14 digs, a team-high, and first-year
Maiwenn Kamdje also had five kills on 10 attempts. Castor finished with five kills and seven digs.
Camille Sherrill tallied six kills to lead the Tigers, and Annie Steger had 23 assists in the loss.
Tufts will rest up before returning to the floor tomorrow to battle No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 16 WashU starting at 1:30 p.m. local time in St. Louis.
--JUMBOS--
