The volleyball team won its first−round match in dramatic fashion this past weekend at the NCAA Tournament, but was unable to advance past the second round on Saturday. Entering as the No. 4 seed, the Jumbos edged Roger Williams on Friday night in a five−set thriller, but the next day, No.1−seeded Springfield put an end to Tufts' stellar 26−6 season with a 3−1 win.
Springfield came into the second−round match with a 32−2 record, with one of those losses coming at the hands of Tufts on Oct. 22. On Saturday night, the teams looked evenly matched, but the Pride scored points when it counted and won their three sets by five points or less. Tufts took the second set but lost by a final of 20−25, 25−21, 25−20, 25−23.
The previous day, the Jumbos overcame a 2−1 set deficit to beat Roger Williams. The Hawks appeared to take control after a 25−12third−set victory, but with their season on the line, the Jumbos stormed back to win the next frame 25−18 before taking the decisive fifth set 15−12.
Freshmen Isabel Kuhel, Hayley Hopper and Kelly Brennan each had double−digit kills in the win.
The Jumbos reached the second round of NCAAs for the first time since 2008, and were knocked out by Springfield for the second consecutive season.
