MEDFORD, Mass. – The Bowdoin College volleyball team rallied from five points down in the fifth set to shock top-seeded Tufts University, 3-2, in an NCAA Second Round match on Saturday night.
The Polar Bears (20-7) avenge a loss to Tufts in the NESCAC Championship match a week ago and ends their season with a record of 28-2.
Match Highlights
- The Polar Bears rallied twice from a one-set deficit and won a thrilling fifth set tiebreaker in a 14-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-15, 15-13 victory.
- After dropping the first set, Bowdoin dominated the second, sprinting to a 9-3 lead out of the gate and never looking back in a 25-16 triumph to tie the match.
- Bowdoin almost won the third set, but Tufts won a pair of late points, breaking a 25-25 tie and taking it 27-25.
- The Polar Bears responded with another dominating showing in the fourth set, using an 8-2 surge midway through to open up an eight-point edge and take a 25-15 win.
- Tufts seemed poised to run away with the fifth set, jumping to a 5-0 lead. Following a Bowdoin timeout, the Polar Bears closed the gap with a 5-2 run, drawing to within 7-5 on an Allyson Hawkins kill.
- After a Tufts point made it 8-5, Bowdoin rolled off four straight, capped by a Hawkins service ace that hit the top of the net and fell to the floor to give Bowdoin an unlikely 9-8 lead.
- The teams traded points, until they found themselves tied at 13 apiece. Hawkins notched a kill to put Bowdoin on the brink and Ashley Williams sealed it with a kill to complete the comeback and send Bowdoin to the Sweet Sixteen.
By The Numbers
Up Next
- Bowdoin will face Johnson & Wales in the regional final tomorrow at Tufts. Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. It is the second straight regional final appearance for the Polar Bears, who will be looking to return to the national quarterfinals for the second time in program history (2015)
