BRISTOL, RI (September 8, 2026) -- The No. 21 Tufts University women's volleyball team evened its record at 2-2 on the season Tuesday, cruising past host Roger Williams University in straight sets with scores of 25-25-15, 25-22 and 25-19. 

The Jumbos started the match strong Tuesday night with 18 first-set kills, and rode that offensive momentum to 43 kills for the evening. 

Tufts was paced at the net by 10 kills apiece from sophomore Hazel Nelson and senior Emma Heckman, as both were very efficient attacking. Nelson hit .500 on her 16 attempts, adding a block and dig, while Heckman swung at a .474 clip. Heckman also finished with four aces and nine digs. 

Junior Ellery Clark was solid orchestrating the offense with 19 assists and seven digs in her three sets of action, while Lola Tortorello and Rianna Liu each recorded nine helpers in the three-set victory. Junior Dylan Whisenant had eight digs while passing well, and Keller Mobley added seven digs as well. 

First-year middle hitter Tessa Fergusson recorded six kills on 12 attempts, leading the team with four assisted blocks. Celina Savage also had six kills, two digs and two blocks. 

The Jumbos were strong defensively as well, surrendering only 27 terminations to the Hawks (3-3) in addition to a 54-45 edge in digs on the night. Tufts hit .196 as a team Tuesday night, and trailed for just one point in the first and third sets combined. 

The second set was much more competitive though, as Roger Williams led 16-13 after a kill from Claire Davis. Tufts rallied back thanks to a 5-1 run, taking a 21-19 lead after a Heckman termination. 

RWU pulled to within one twice more but a kill from Maiwenn Kamdje followed by a Heckman service ace was enough to put the Jumbos out ahead for good. 

The Hawks got 10 kills from Peyton Felix, and Marianna Hernandez had a match-high 13 digs for the hosts. 

The Jumbos will now turn their attention to the Tufts Invitational this weekend, as Tufts will start action Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. against No. 2 Trinity University of Texas in the home opener in Cousens Gymnasium.