Medford, Mass. – The No. 8 seed Trinity College volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Friday evening inside Cousens Gymnasium, falling, 3-0, to top-seeded Tufts in the opening round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament. The host Jumbos improved to 20-7 on the year and advanced to the semifinals with a 25-8, 25-15 and 25-12 victory, while the Bantams finish their 2014 campaign with a 13-11 overall record.

Trinity posted its 11th consecutive winning season this year and qualified for the NESCAC Championship Tournament for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. The loss also snapped a two-match winning streak for the Bantams. As a team, Tufts had 32 kills, 26 assists, five service aces, 42 digs and eight blocks. Trinity registered 16 kills, 16 assists, one ace, 42 digs and one block.

Junior tri-captain Kate Giddens (Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.) paced the Trinity attack with nine kills, while junior tri-captain Hunter Drews (Clifton Park, N.Y.) added four of her own. Junior setter Gina Buzzelli (Cheshire, Conn.) had a team-high nine assists and sophomore setter Randi Whitham (South Weymouth, Mass.) dished out four assists. On the defensive end, Giddens led the way with nine digs, while Whitham and defensive specialist Grace Metry (Grosse Point Park, Mich.) had eight apiece.

For Tufts, junior outside hitter Maddie Kuppe produced a match-best 11 kills and sophomore middle hitter Elizabeth Ahrens added seven. Junior setter Kyra Baum did a good job distributing the ball, dishing out a match-leading 24 assists. On the defensive end, senior outside hitter Hayley Hopper had a team-high eight digs, while senior middle hitter Isabel Kuhel had six blocks (4-solo, 2-assist).

In the first game, Trinity pulled within three at 10-7 after an attack error by Tufts. The Jumbos responded by closing the game on 15-1 run with the lone Bantam point coming on a Drews kill. In the second game, Trinity scored back-to-back points thanks to a Giddens kill and an ace from junior Katie Stueber (Darien, Conn.) to pull within four at 8-4. Once again, the Jumbos responded by scoring eight of the next 12 points to double up their advantage and make it 16-8. The Bantams scored the next point thanks to kill from junior middle hitter Sussannah Matthai (Baltimore, Md.), but Tufts would hold off a late charge to take a 2-0 advantage as the game ended with a pair of Trinity attack errors. In the third and final game, Tufts scored five of the final seven points to eliminate the Bantams.