HOBOKEN, NJ (September 13, 2025) - The Tufts University women's volleyball team played lights-out volleyball down south as they swept the Stevens Ducks and the Drew University Rangers in straight sets on the campus of Stevens in New Jersey.
The Jumbos (6-1) started their day well, driving up an early lead against the Ducks. They took off, leading the hosts by as much as 20-13. A late run by the home side saw the final score of the set reach 25-20, but the Jumbos were clearly in control.Â
The second set saw the Ducks launch their best effort to wrestle that control away from the Jumbos. A tug-of-war emerged early in the frame as each team went punch for punch, eventually seeing themselves sit even at 13 points apiece. The Jumbos pushed ahead, but the Ducks came right back to make it 18-18 before taking a lead of their own at 18-20. The Jumbos battled back from the Ducks set point to make it 24-24 and scored three in a row to secure the win.Â
The third set saw the struggle continue, as it was now Tufts' turn to see their opponent come back from a big lead. The Jumbos lead by as much as 23-16 in the third, but the Ducks managed to mount a comeback of their own on set point. Once again, however, the Jumbos scored the final points to secure the win and earned the straight sets match victory over the Ducks with a 26-24 win in the third.
Bridget Lonergan and
Maiwenn Kamdje led the way for the Tufts offense with eight kills each, while
Julia Griffiths had a great game in the middle with seven.
Rianna Liu and
Matsa Shi both served up three aces with the former earning 17 assists to lead the team.
Shi led the team with an impressive 23 digs, while Liu added nine of her own. Griffiths, Kamdje and Lonergan all played well at the net, combining for 11 blocks. The early morning game made it four wins in a row for Tufts.Â
The Jumbos hit their stride right from the start against the Rangers as they jumped out to a 14-4 lead. Their lead held at nearly 10 points until the Rangers managed to forge a 16th point just before set point. The Jumbos took the first set without drama, 25-16. Junior
Akpevwe Akpoigbe led the offense for Tufts in the opening set with six kills. Fellow junior
Rianna Liu was serving up a storm in the first, serving up seven straight points and earning an ace later in the frame.
The second set saw Tufts resume their dominance. Right away they jumped out to an overwhelming 21-4 lead. They put the set away with only a few errors to their name and took a 2-0 lead into the third set.Â
Waves of substitutions for both teams gave the third set a different look. For the first and only time in the match, Drew took the first point of the set. The Jumbos battled back from 2-0 down and gained a big 10-3 lead off of some stellar serving from sophomore
Matsa Shi. The Rangers pushed back to make it 13-12 as the Jumbos' offense fell out of rhythm. The set stayed close until the very end, but Tufts managed to hold onto their lead to win the set 25-23 and earned the sweep.
Tufts finished the day with a solid hitting average of .250. Their best set for attacking was the second where they hit an impressive .269. Defensively, the Jumbos had a very good day. They kept the Rangers to just 20 kills across three sets, making three blocks and 46 digs as a unit. Both Liu and Shi led the team with eight digs each, while
Lola Tortorello earned seven.
Akpoigbe finished the game at the top of the scoresheet for Tufts hitters. She finished the sweep with a team-leading nine kills.
Claire Castor was just behind her with seven kills over own, while
Keller Mobley took home five kills of her own.
Liu finished the game with an impressive seven aces from the service line, over twice as many as her previous season high. Liu also earned 12 assists, just three fewer than Tortorello's 18.
The sweep marked the fifth straight win for the Jumbos, and made it four sweeps in a row.
They will return to NESCAC competition with a road match at Hamilton College on Friday, September 19 at 7:00 pm in Clinton, New York.
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--JUMBOS--
