BALTIMORE, Md.– Eastern University Women's Volleyball fell in three sets to Tufts University in the opening round of the 2021 Division III NCAA Tournament.
Bridgette Kelly led the Eagles with 10 kills and three blocks, and
Grace Casagrande picked up a team-high 15 digs.
The Eagles jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening set, but the Jumbos (19-5) found their feet in serve receive and battled back to claim the opening set 25-20. Eastern's early edge came with aggressive serves from
Kelsey Bradshaw, Kelly, and
Elle Jiron-Bujanda pushing the Jumbos out of system nd giving the Eagles a chance to defend against back row attacks, tips or rolls.
As the set progressed, however, the Tufts passers put the ball on the hands of their setters, and their hitters were able to terminate. After the original 10-2 run, the Eagles scored just one point on serve the rest of the set. Led by six kills from
Logan Martin and three from Kelly, Eastern hit an impressive .448 in the opening set. The Jumbos were just a tick behind that with a .412 hitting percentage.
Tufts built a 12-4 edge in the second set, and though the Eagles cut the deficit to 15-11 on a strong run of serves from
Trinity Gruber, they were never able to pull within four and fell 25-20 in the second set
The Eagles were within striking distance in the third before a 9-to-1 run from the Jumbos pushed a 14-12 lead to 23-13. Casagrande served for a couple points late, but the Jumbos claimed the final set 25-17.
"Today was a learning experience we will put in the bank for future seasons," Head Coach
Mark Birtwistle said after the match. "Tufts is a well-coached, seasoned group that imposed their style as the match went on. I thought we competed well at times. Our serving was good, and when we passed, we were able to get offensive points. We are looking forward to building onto what we've started this year."
While this was the 20th NCAA Tournament for Birtwistle, no player who played in the game today had ever played in an NCAA Tournament match before. Tufts will advance to play Cortland.
