CAMBRIDGE, MA (October 24, 2026) -- The Tufts University volleyball team captured its first New England Challenge since 2018 Saturday, knocking off a pair of ranked New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) squads in No. 25 Babson College and No. 7 MIT in action from MIT's Rockwell Cage.

The Jumbos topped both Babson and MIT in four sets, as Tufts won the first match of the day 22-25, 27-25, 25-23 and 25-20 over the Beavers. Tufts then defeated MIT in four sets, 25-16, 25-22, 26-28 and 25-15. The win over MIT was the first for the Jumbos since 2019, as senior Claire Castor was selected as the Tournament MVP and junior Celina Savage also was picked for the All-Tournament Team. 

Tufts was the only team that went undefeated in the three-match slate for the six schools involved. Springfield College, Babson and MIT were each 2-1, while Williams College and Middlebury College were 0-3. 

Match 1: Tufts 3, Babson 1
Claire Castor hit .355 on 31 attempts, powering down a match-best 15 kills while adding 11 digs and two service aces to help lead the Jumbos to the victory over Babson. 

Babson took the opening set and was leading 17-12 in the second frame before the Jumbos charged back. The Beavers led 23-19 late in the period, but Tufts recorded five straight points to take a 24-23 lead on a dump kill from Rianna Liu. The Jumbos had to fight off a set point at 25-24 on a Maiwenn Kamdje kill, clinching the set two points later on a solo block by first-year Tessa Fergusson. 

The momentum continued into the second set, holding off Babson late in the third before Fergusson pounded down a kill to put the Jumbos up 2-1. In the fourth, Babson led 19-18 midway through the frame but Savage started a 4-0 run with a kill to put the Kumbos up 22-19. Sophomore Hazel Nelson had two solo blocks during the run. 

Up 22-20, Tufts would put the match away with three straight points capped by a Castor termination to the first win of the day. 

Savage added 13 kills and three digs, while Kamdje finished with nine kills and three assisted rejections. Fergusson finished with five kills, five total blocks and two digs, while senior Emma Heckman tallied six kills. 

Liu dished out 23 assists and added 10 digs, converting all three attack attempts while tallying three aces. Lola Tortorello finished with 12 assists as well, while Dylan Whisenany led the team with 19 digs. 

Tufts hit .248 (57-23-137) for the match, holding a 57-46 edge in kills while also edging the Beavers in the digs department, 59-52. 

Devon Burke led the Beavers with 13 kills, and Zoe Ackerman had 42 assists, and six aces. 

Match 2: Tufts 3, MIT 1
The Jumbos snapped a five-match losing skid to MIT on Saturday, holding the Engineers to just .082 attacking for the match thanks to stellar back row play in the match. Tufts logged a 71-53 advantage in the digs column. 

Savage the offensive leader for the Jumbos against MIT, as she hit .407 for the match in hammering down 13 kills in addition to five digs. Kamdje had 10 kills and six assisted blocks, adding the match-winning kill in the fourth set. Castor also had 10 kills and nine digs, contributing fwo aces en route to the Tournament MVP accolade. 

Fergusson also had seven terminations and five assisted blocks, while Heckman posted six kills as well. Sophomore Amanda Freehill had a career-high 17 digs in the win, recording three service aces as well, and Dylan Whisenant also had four aces and 16 digs. 

Liu led the team with 23 assists and eight digs, while Tortorello also had 12 assists and five digs. 

Tufts hit .214 for the match, collecting 50 kills in the win. 

Sabine Smith led the Engineers with 19 kills, as teammate Kayleigh May had 29 assists and a pair of aces. 

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Tufts returns to Cousens Gymnasium Friday evening at 7 p.m. for another big match, taking on No. 4 Colby College in conference play.