CLINTON, N.Y. – Tufts University's Emma Heckman put down 16 kills and the Jumbos defeated the Hamilton College Continentals in four sets (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20) inside Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night, Sept. 19.
Season Update
- The Continentals (3-4, 0-1 NESCAC) were playing their conference opener.
- Tufts (7-1, 1-0), which is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 poll, won its sixth straight match.
How It Happened
- In the first set neither team led by more than two points until the Jumbos snapped a 14-14 tie with six in a row. After Hamilton closed to within 22-20, Tufts finished the set with three consecutive points including a Heckman kill on set point.
- The Continentals led 21-19 in the second set, but the Jumbos recorded the next six points and took a two-sets-to-none lead. Heckman and Claire Castor had two kills apiece during the run.
- It seemed like Tufts was going to sweep Hamilton when the Jumbos led 20-17 in the third set. The Continentals responded with seven straight points as four different players registered kills. The set ended on a Tufts attack error.
- The Jumbos jumped out to 5-1 and 8-3 leads in the fourth set, and Hamilton didn't get closer than four points the rest of the way. A service error by the Continentals closed out the set and match.
Notes
- Hamilton's Grace Seaman '29 smacked a season-high 10 kills.
- Kathryn Fox '27 hammered eight kills and had just one attack error in 23 attempts. Fox added three blocks.
- Caitlin Allen '27 led the defense at the net with four blocks. Allen was 15th in NCAA Division III with 1.20 blocks per set going into the evening.
- Grace Jansen '29 passed out 14 assists and added 13 digs.
- Lucy Proud '29 handed out 13 assists and came up with 11 digs.
- Zua Vang '29 contributed a team-best 14 digs, and the libero chipped in 11 assists.
- Tufts owned a 56-43 advantage in kills.
Next Match
The Continentals host Bates College (5-2, 0-1) for another NESCAC contest on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m.