MEDFORD, Mass. - The Tufts University volleyball team rallied in the fourth and fifth sets to come from behind and defeat Bowdoin 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12) in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

The Jumbos (21-7) avenge a regular-season loss to the Polar Bears and advance to tomorrow's conference title match. The Polar Bears (21-8) currently ranked second in the latest NCAA Regional poll, will hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when pairings are announced on Monday.

In a tightly contested match throughout, the decisive fifth set was tied at 11-11 before Tufts scored four of the final five points. A kill by senior tri-captain Hayley Hopper, two Bowdoin attack errors and a match-ending kill by sophomore Mary Maccabee gave Tufts the win.

Hopper led the Jumbos with a match-high 23 kills, making only six errors in 53 attempts to finish with a .321 percentage. Maccabee added eight kills as the Jumbos had six players with five or more. Junior setter Kyra Baum finished with 45 assists.

Junior libero Carolina Berger led Tufts with 21 digs while Baum added 18. In the blocking game, sophomore Elizabeth Ahrens had four solos and two assists while senior Izzy Kuhel finished with four solos.

The Polar Bears were led offensively by 11 kills from sophomore Erika Sklaver while junior Christy Jewett added 10. Jewett and first-year Michelle Albright both served three aces for Bowdoin. Setters Quincy Leech (23) and Claire McInerney (12) helped Bowdoin compile 42 assists.

Bowdoin sophomore Katie Doherty posted the match-high in digs with 24. Junior Hailey Wahl was the top Polar Bear blocker with three solos.

Sklaver had led Bowdoin's first-set victory with four kills in five attempts while Doherty had six digs on defense. Tufts evened the match in the second set led by Hopper's six kills and three blocks (two solo) by Ahrens.

The Polars Bears gained the advantage in the third set, emerging from a 14-14 tie to post the victory. They spread out the offense with three kills each by Sklaver, Wahl and Jewett. In the fourth set it was the Jumbos who broke away from a 15-15 tie to win. Hopper was outstanding in the fourth to keep Tufts alive with eight kills while Baum matched that number in digs.