Volleyball Tops Emmanuel, Falls To Tufts at Brandeis Tourney

Final	1	2	3	4	5	T
Emmanuel (Mass.) (2-5)	18	21	25	16		1
Babson (4-1)	25	25	22	25		3

Emmanuel (Mass.)	Babson
K: Danielle Rose - 17 B: 3 Players (#5, #27, #7 - 1) D: Yun-Ting Lee - 35 SA: Cara Callahan - 2	K: Mary Donahue - 14 B: Mary Donahue - 3 D: 2 Players (#2, #7 - 15) SA: 3 Players (#2, #3, #19 - 1)

TEAM STATISTICS	Emmanuel (Mass.)	Babson
Hitting %	.089	.186
Blocks	2.0	4.0
Digs	94	74
Aces	3	3

full stats

Final	1	2	3	4	5	T
Tufts (3-1)	25	23	18	25	15	3
Babson (4-2)	20	25	25	18	10	2

Tufts	Babson
K: Kelly Brennan - 15 B: Isabel Kuhel - 7 D: Virginia Clay - 20 SA: Juliana Goodbar - 3	K: Mary Donahue - 20 B: Krissy Robertson - 7 D: Karla Flores - 35 SA: Elizabeth Sullivan - 2

TEAM STATISTICS	Tufts	Babson
Hitting %	.131	.102
Blocks	14.0	8.0
Digs	84	83
Aces	6	6

full stats

WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Babson College volleyball team split a pair of hard-fought matches at the Brandeis Invitational on Saturday afternoon, with the Beavers defeating Emmanuel College, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-16), before running out of gas in a 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 25-18, 15-10) loss to regional power Tufts University. With their second straight split in as many days, the Beavers return home with an overall record of 4-2.

First-years Mary Donahue and Alicia Wilde powered the offense in Babson's first match of the day, as the rookie tandem combined for 24 kills and only five errors in a 3-1 win over Emmanuel. Donahue went for 14 kills in the victory, while Wilde added 10 more. Sophomore Kseniya Stepanova and first-year Elizabeth Sullivan each recorded 15 digs to pace the back row, while senior captain Kathleen Lynch continued her stellar play at the setter spot by dishing out 39 assists to go with 10 digs. Seniors Cathy Tinker and Ashley Strangio also played extremely well for the Beavers, with Strango totaling nine kills and Tinker adding five more without an error. First-year Krissy Robertson contributed six kills to the offense, and junior libero Karla Flores and sophomore DS Brianna San Diego combined for 24 digs.

Despite facing their toughest opponent of the season in their fifth match in three days, the Beavers played brilliantly in their final contest against Tufts. After dropping the first set, Babson rallied from as many as five down to win the second and then trailed only once in the entire third as the Green and White surged to a 2-1 advantage. However, the Jumbos' size and power enabled then to pull away midway through the fourth set, and that momentum carried into the decisive fifth as Tufts narrowly dodged the upset with a 3-2 comeback win.

Donahue was stellar again in the Babson loss, recording a career-high 20 kills. Lynch added a season-best 41 assists to go with seven kills, 15 digs, and three block assists, Wilde added 10 kills and four total blocks, and Robertson amassed six kills and a team-high seven block assists. Flores paced the back line with 35 digs, and Sullivan tacked on 10 digs and two aces.