BOSTON, MA (September 26, 2026) -- The Tufts University women's volleyball team upped its win streak to a season-best four matches Saturday, taking both ends of a tri-match at Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference play. Tufts defeated UMass Boston 26-24, 25-21 and 25-20 before besting the host Leopards 25-19, 25-19 and 25-22. 

Match 1: Tufts 3, UMass Boston 0
First-year middle hitter Tessa Fergusson led all players with 10 kills, and Rianna Liu tallied another double-double to help the Jumbos push past the Beacons. 

The 10 kills were a career-high for Fergusson, who hit .385 for the match, while adding an ace and assisted block as well. Senior Emma Heckman tallied seven kills and two blocks in the win, while junior Maiwenn Kamdje hit .313 on the way to seven terminations. 

Liu continued to spark the offensive unit with 15 assists and a team-high 11 digs, while setting partner Ellery Clark had a team-best 18 helpers and five digs. 

Junior Dylan Whisenant had seven digs and four assists as well, while Celina Savage powered down six kills in the win. 

In the first set, Tufts led 24-16 but surrendered eight straight points as UMass Boston pulled even at 24. Savage posted a kill followed by an error by UMass Boston to give the Jumbos the set. The second set was the same script, but this time Tufts had to rally from down 18-12, as it went on a 9-1 spurt to take a 21-19 edge. UMB got to within one at 22-21, but again Tufts fended off the Beacons. 

The third set was back and forth but a 6-1 run late was enough to give the Jumbos the win. 

Tufts hit .216 for the match, holding UMass Boston to .125 hitting for the match. Mya Perron led the Beacons (7-7) with nine kills. 

Match 2: Tufts 3, Wentworth 0
Tufts was in control for the majority of the match with Wentworth, hitting .258 for the contest in posting its fourth straight 3-0 victory. 

Kamdje was the star offensively in the victory over WIT, tallying 10 kills while hitting a superb .350 on 20 swings. Senior Akpevwe Akpoigbe also had an efficient and productive day match with eight kills on 16 attempts. Senior Claire Castor finished with seven kills and seven digs, and Heckman added seven kills, two blocks and three digs. 

Savage continued her strong play of late with seven more terminations, while Fergusson recorded six kills on 13 attempts with two blocks. Liu finished just one dig shy of another double-double with 20 assists and nine digs, while Clark chalked up 16 dimes. 

Whisenant led all Tufts players with 13 digs, and Amanda Freehill came off the bench to record seven digs and four aces. The service game was a large factor for the Jumbos in the win, posting eight for the match. 

Kate McLane had 13 kills for Wentworth (7-8), and Olivia Vaughn recorded 28 assists and eight digs. Kate Koliopoulos also had 19 digs for the Leopards. 

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Tufts will have some time off before heading to Hamilton College Friday, October 2 for New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play at 7 p.m. in Clinton, NY.