SCRANTON, PA (September 6, 2026) -- Three Jumbos posted double-digit kills on Sunday, as the No. 13 Tufts University volleyball shook off two five-set losses earlier in the weekend to knock off No. 18 Ithaca College in four sets in action at the University of Scranton. 

Tufts (1-2) won with scores of 25-21, 19-25, 25-21 and 28-26 in an exciting fourth set. 

The Jumbos offensive unit was strong on Sunday, as the team had 65 kills in the victory. The 65 terminations in a four-set win was the most for a Tufts squad since tallying 65 against Wesleyan back on November 6, 2022 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title match. 

Senior Claire Castor was the leader for the Jumbos with a huge match of 15 kills, hitting .294 on 34 attempts, while adding 19 digs as well. Junior Maiwenn Kamdje finished with 13 kills, posting a hitting clip of .323, while senior Emma Heckman had 10 kills, six digs and two aces. 

First-year Tessa Fergusson had nine terminations as well, a career-high, and Celina Savage also chipped in with nine kills off the bench. Sophomore Hazel Nelson also came on late in the match and was a big spark, finishing five of her seven chances. 

The offensive unit was quarterbacked by the pairing of Ellery Clark and Rianna Liu, as the duo combined for 52 assists on the match. Liu tallied 35 assists and 19 digs for a massive double-double for the Jumbos, and Clark had 17 helpers and five digs as well. 

Defensively, Becca DePencier Piñero had one of the best matches of her career with 19 digs, adding six assists and an ace. Amanda Freehill also had eight digs on the back row for Tufts. 

The Jumbos ability to side out in key situations on the night was vital, as they controlled the first and third sets. In the fourth set, Tufts trailed Ithaca by five at 18-13 but the Jumbos slowly crawled back into the set before tying the score at 20 on a kill by Castor. 

Tufts had a chance to close out the match at 24-23, but Ithaca got a kill from Addison Leadbetter to keep the set going. Ithaca would have two chances at set point, but the Jumbos got clutch kills from Heckman and Savage to fend off the Bombers. With the match deadlocked at 26, Heckman finished back-to-back terminations to secure the win. 

Tufts was strong right off of the serve, hitting .377 on first ball attacks. 

Ithaca was paced by the match-best 16 kills from Brianna Owens, and Wesley Slavin had 42 assists and 14 digs. 

The Jumbos will have a day off before heading to Roger Williams University Tuesday night at 6 p.m. for non-conference action in Bristol, RI.