BOSTON, Mass. (Sept. 26, 2026) – The UMass Boston Beacons volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards and the Tufts University Jumbos on Saturday at Tansey Gymnasium in Boston.
UMass Boston now sits at 7-7 on the season, while Wentworth is 7-8 and Tufts is 9-5. The Jumbos were receiving votes in the latest version of the AVCA Top 25 poll that was released earlier this week.
Wentworth 3, UMass Boston 0 (19-25, 15-25, 19-25)
Set One (19-25)
The Beacons trailed 14-10 in the first set before a four-point run including three consecutive service aces by
Kaitlyn Leberstien (Wilmington, Del.) that evened things at 14. Wentworth responded by taking the next three points and UMass Boston was unable to get any closer than one the rest of the way in the 25-19 setback.
Set Two (15-25)
In the second set, the Leopards were able to open a 12-6 lead and later used a five-point run that stretched the lead into double digits.
Set Three (19-25)
The two sides traded points for much of the third set and UMass Boston continued to battle despite a slim two-point edge for the hosts at 15-13, 16-14 and 18-16. From there, Wentworth won seven of the final 10 points to seal the match.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
Paige Coulson (Marriottsville, Md.) led all Beacons with 11 kills, while
Audrey Cofield (Ypsilanti, Mich.) added 18 assists and six digs in the match.
Leberstien put together an all-around performance with three kills, four assists, five service aces and 10 digs.
Tufts 3, UMass Boston 0 (24-26, 21-25, 20-25)
Set One (24-26)
Tufts held a 24-16 lead in the first set before the Beacons ripped off a remarkable eight consecutive points capped off by a Cofield service ace that tied the set at 24. However, the Jumbos responded by taking the next two points to clinch the 26-24 win.
Set Two (21-25)
This time around, UMass Boston got out to an early lead as a pair of aces from
Nevaeh Yancey (Dorchester, Mass.) and a Coulson kill made it 12-7. Later in the set, the lead sat at 18-12 prior to Tufts taking the lead for good by winning nine of the next 10 points for a 21-19 lead. The Beacons then cut it to one at 21-20 and 22-21, but the Jumbos held off the late rally to take the two-set lead.
Set Three (20-25)
Things were deadlocked at 11-11, 16-16 and 19-19 when Tufts captured the next three points to take a 22-19 lead. After a kill by
Mya Perron (Beverly, Mass.), the Jumbos won the final three to seal the match.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
Perron had nine kills to pace the attack and Coulson added seven to go along with a service ace, three block assists and three digs.
Elsewhere for UMass Boston, Cofield tallied 15 assists and Leberstien registered 10. Leberstien also added four kills and eight digs.
Ashlee Wudi (Brookfield, Ill.) had 10 digs to lead the Beacons' defensive efforts.
UP NEXT:
The Beacons will return to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at Western New England with first serve slated for 7 p.m.
To stay up to date on all things UMass Boston Athletics, follow the Beacons on Instagram (@UMassBeacons) X (UMassBostonAthletics) and YouTube (@UMassBeacons), and follow the latest updates at
UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website.
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