MIDDLETOWN, CT (November 15, 2025) -- The No. 20 Tufts University women's volleyball team became the first No. 4 seed to win the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title since 2008, as the Jumbos completed a magical week of play with a strong 3-1 win over nationally-ranked No. 6 and No. 2 seed Colby College in play from Wesleyan University's Silloway Gymnasium. Tufts topped Colby with scores of 25-20, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-21 for its fourth all-time NESCAC title.
With the victory, the Jumbos (21-5) earned the NESCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will find out on Monday where it will be in action next weekend. The conference crown was the first since the 2022 season for the Jumbos, when Tufts also won it at Wesleyan.
Despite Colby posting two more kills in the match than the Jumbos, Tufts was able to force the Mules into 28 hitting errors which ended up being the difference in the match.
Sophomore
Maiwenn Kamdje was once again stellar offensively for the Jumbos, chalking up a match-high 14 kills to go with two blocks. Junior
Akpevwe Akpoigbe had one of her best matches as a Jumbo, as she tallied nine kills on .273 hitting, including the match-clinching kill in the fourth set at 24-21.
In the opening set, Tufts steadily grew its lead up to as much as eight at 19-11, hitting .429 in the frame to pull away for the early match edge. Akpoigbe and junior
Emma Heckman each had four kills in the stanza, each hitting .800 in the period.
Colby came back with its best offensive period in the second, hitting .320 while erring on only two attacks in the frame to deadlock the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, the two teams exchanged the lead back-and-forth before a 5-1 run at 18-18 put the Jumbos up 23-19 after an ace from
Claire Castor. Kamdje would hammer down the final two points of the set with kills to push the Jumbos back out in front.
In the fourth and deciding set, Colby led 5-0 early but a subsequent 9-1 run by the Jumbos gave Tufts a 9-6 lead after a termination by Akpoigbe. Tufts continued to lead but a 8-1 rally by the Mules made it 19-16 late in the period.
After a service error by Colby, Tufts answered with back-to-back aces to tie the match at 19. Colby (23-3) regained the lead at 21-20, but the Jumbos rattled off the final five points of the match including back-to-back kills by Akpoigbe to earn the championship.
Castor tallied 11 kills on 37 attempts Saturday, leading all players with four service aces as well as adding five digs. Heckman had six finishes as well, and senior
Emma Norman hit .211 on 19 attempts with five kills.
Junior
Rianna Liu recorded another double-double, her ninth of the season, with 23 helpers and 10 digs, while setting partner
Ellery Clark finished with 19 assists and four digs. Libero
Matsa Shi also had a team-high 13 digs, and senior middle
Julia Griffiths had four kills and four rejections.
Tufts hit .225 for the match, holding the Mules to just .160 for the outing. Colby was led by the 11 kills by Brady Moseley, and Ingrid Zahn and Hayley Beigh each had eight terminations.
--JUMBOS--
