Volleyball Rebounds With Sweep Of Springfield, Babson At New England Challenge

SPRINGFIELD, MA (October 25, 2025) -- The Tufts University volleyball team shook off a Friday evening loss to No. 16 MIT with strong performances Saturday afternoon, knocking off host Springfield College 3-0 before outlasting Babson College 3-2 in the second and final day of play at the 2025 New England Challenge.

Tufts knocked off Springfield 25-14, 25-18 and 25-20 before tripping up Babson 17-25, 25-21, 25-17, 19-25 and 17-15. Tufts improved to 18-5 on the season, finishing second on the weekend behind only undefeated MIT. Tufts also saw middles Bridget Lonergan and Julia Griffiths earn All-Tournament Team. 

Match 1: Tufts 3, Springfield 0
The Jumbos saw the return of junior setter Rianna Liu to the lineup for the first time in nearly a month, and the contributions were immediately evident as the she helped the Jumbos hit .310 for the match in cruising past the Pride. The balance on offense was a key for Tufts, as six players had five or more kills, led by the 10 from Maiwenn Kamdje on just 16 attempts. 

Sophomore Keller Mobley added seven kills and a team-high 10 digs for the Jumbos, while Liu factored in with 20 assists and eight digs. Lonergan had six kills in the victory, while Griffiths and junior Emma Heckman each had six finishes as well. Junior Claire Castor posted five terminations and five digs, while Griffths also recorded six total blocks including four solo rejections. 

Junior Becca DePencier Pinero was solid in the passing game at libero for Tufts, tallying six digs while Mobley was perfect in her 17 passing opportunities. Tufts was solid in serve receive the entire match, allowing just four service aces to the Pride. 

Tufts also was solid in transition in the win over Springfield, hitting .370 in first transition attacks and .383 overall in transition overall. 

Springfield got a team-high seven kills from Aubrey Hughes, and Tori Colosimo had 16 assists and 10 digs for the Pride (19-5). 

Match 2: Tufts 3, Babson 2
The Jumbos were able to outlast Babson in the fifth set, 17-15, to clinch a huge regional win thanks a big block at 16-15 by Griffiths and Heckman to seal the victory. Tufts had taken the second and third set thanks to some solid defending as it forced Babson into 16 total errors in the frames. 

The Beavers rallied with 15 kills in the fourth set to deadlock the match at two sets apiece, but Tufts was able to make enough plays down the stretch to earn the win. 

Heckman bounced back with a monster game in the win over Babson, as she finished with 14 kills on 25 attempts, adding four total blocks including the match-clincher. Castor tallied 13 kills and 10 digs for another double-double. 

Sophomore Maiwenn Kamdje recorded 12 kills, four digs and four blocks in the win, and senior Emma Norman hit .294 for the match with eight kills, three digs and three total blocks. Lonergan also was efficient with six kills on 15 swings, and Griffiths was elite at the net with 11 total blocks. 

Liu had a team-high 24 assists to go with 13 digs, and DePencier Pinero had 13 digs in the win. First-year Amanda Freehill had nine digs as well, while Lola Tortorello logged 18 assists and five digs in the victory.

Tufts hit .189 for the match while edging Babson in kills (57-52), blocks (14-12) and digs (67-63). 

Babson got 13 kills from Sofia Ibarri, while Ailsa Munro and Hailey Fouche had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Zoe Ackerman also posted 43 assists while libero Sophia Shaw had a match-high 26 digs. 

--

Tufts will now set its sights on a big New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) contest Friday evening, finishing the regular season with 7:00 p.m. match at No. 17 Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.