NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Bears fell to non-conference opponent Tufts University 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-12) on Friday evening. With the loss, Coast Guard drops to 9-4, and Tufts improves to 5-2 on the season.

The Bears were led by senior Noelle Tursky and freshman Sarah Somer with seven kills apiece. Tursky also had seven assists and Junior Maeve Duffin added nine. Defensively, the Bears were led by junior Carmen Zipf with seven digs, while classmate Kaela France and Tursky each had six. France also contributed two aces.

Tufts started set one strong with an ace from Maddie Yu, but Coast Guard went on to tie it 4-4 with an ace from Zipf. From there, the Jumbos went on a run due to a few Coast Guard errors to go up 9-5. The Bears got a few back on a kill from sophomore Shannon Shaw and a block by freshman Mack Boose to bring the Bears within two. However, the Jumbos went on a 8-0 run on Cora Cunningham's service. Tursky had a few kills on sets from Duffin, however, another run on service from Christine Audette put the Jumbos ahead for good, 25-11.

In set two, the Jumbos jumped out to a 5-1 lead before France got an ace and Somer a kill to get Coast Guard back in the set. After a few back and forth rallies, Tufts strung some points together to go up 13-9, forcing a Coast Guard timeout. Junior Elizabeth Atkinson came out of the timeout right away with a kill to bring the Bears back within three. Kills from Jumbos Maya Lightfoot and Jenelle Yarwood put Tufts back up 15-10, however, Somer and France came back with kills of their own to bring the score to 15-12. From there, Tufts powered ahead, and the Bears could not come back within five, dropping the set 25-18.

Set three saw the Jumbos up 4-0 early, on three aces from Yu. A Bears' timeout could not slow them down, as they went up 9-1 before a service error got the Bears another point on the board. Coast Guard used that momentum to grab a few more, as France had an ace and Somer a kill, bringing the score to 10-5. However, the Bears could not overcome the initial deficit, and dropped set three 25-12.

The Bears look to bounce back tomorrow as they take on the Wheaton College Lyons in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at 1 PM.