Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 23 Tufts In Five Sets

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott women's volleyball team was defeated in a non-conference matchup by No. 23 Tufts, 3-2, with scores of 25-23, 10-25, 15-25, 25-23, and 11-15 on Wednesday night inside MacDonald Gymnasium.

Hadley Helenbrook (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Gulls offense with a match-high 20 kills, adding nine digs and two service aces. 

Ava Grace Dresback (Pawcatuck, Conn.) tallied 14 putaways to go with seven digs, while Angelina Fitzharris (Webster, N.Y.) contributed eight kills in the contest.

Hannah Maguire (San Jose, Calif.)  ran the offense all night for Endicott via a match-high 39 assists.  The sophomore finished with 11 digs and another match-high of three service aces. 

Defensively, Abby Downs (Billerica, Mass.) paced both teams with 14 digs.

After taking the first set, the Blue and Green dropped the next two sets before jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead in the fourth set behind two Dresback kills, a Helenbrook termination, a Jumbo attack error, and a service ace by Reagan Mitchell (Overland Park, Kan.). Tufts responded with a 9-3 run of their own, which the Gulls answered with a quick 4-0 spurt, forcing a Jumbo timeout at 12-10. From there, the teams traded points for the rest of the set, forcing a fifth set.

In the fifth, the visitors seized momentum, winning seven consecutive points after being down 6-2. The Gulls never stopped fighting, getting within a point of tying the match twice (11-10, 12-11), before ultimately falling 15-11.

Tonight's match featured 24 ties (9-2-6-4-3) and 14 lead changes (8-1-2-2-1). 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls are now 6-16 all-time versus Tufts (seventh five-set match in the series)
• Helenbrook has compiled 20 or more kills in eight matches this season.
• 15th match this season with 10 or more digs for Downs.
• 10th double-double for Maguire this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (9-10) travels to conference opponent Hartford on Saturday, October 18 at 1 PM. Tufts (15-2) visits Colby College on Friday, October 17 at 7 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Catherine Scarantino '26)