Women's Volleyball 10/10/2022 12:00:00 AM

Match Preview: No. 18 Women's Volleyball vs. Wheaton

No. 18 Women's Volleyball vs. Wheaton
Tuesday, October 11 | 7 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 19-32 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to 1980.
• The Beavers have won 11 of their last 14 matches versus the Lyons since 2008.
• The Green and White has won its last five matches against Wheaton at home although Tuesday's contest will be the first between the teams inside Staake Gymnasium since 2018.

LAST MEETING
• Seniors Laura Zuloaga and Martina Jankovic Chin both finished with 10 kills to help Babson record a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) over Wheaton on October 13, 2021, in Norton, Mass.
• Allie Puccio '21 M'22 and Julia Palomba M'22 added nine and seven kills, respectively, and junior Caroline Applewhite dished out 25 assists for the Beavers, who hit .283 on the night.
• Adara Hamilton registered nine kills, six digs and four service aces, while senior Sophie Wilhelm led all players with 19 digs for the Lyons.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 18 Babson (17-2, 7-0 NEWMAC) is coming off a 3-1 loss to Endicott that snapped it 16-match winning streak on Saturday.
• Jankovic Chin had 11 kills and junior Lauren Gips and first-year Isabella Allen added nine kills apiece for the Beavers, who made a season-high 17 service aces in the loss.
• Allen ranks fifth in the conference averaging 3.22 kills per set, Gips (2.78 k/s, 0.94 b/s) is fourth in the league with a .349 hitting percentage and leads the team in service aces (26), and Zuloaga is contributing 2.30 kills per set to go along with a .346 hitting percentage that ranks fifth in the NEWMAC.
• Graduate student Izzy Seebold is handing out a conference-best 10.60 assists per set, while first-year Roz Cabuena is fifth in the NEWMAC averaging 4.67 digs per set.

SCOUTING THE LYONS
• Wheaton (8-8, 2-3 NEWMAC) has won three of its last four matches but is coming off a 3-1 loss to Gordon last Thursday.
• First-year Hollis Hanson had eight kills in 10 swings and junior Julianna Flack finished with 33 assists, six digs and two aces for the Lyons, who hit just .091 over the final three sets.
• Junior Annah Shaheen is averaging 2.30 kills per set, first-year Sydney Lyon (2.12 k/s) has recorded 10 or more kills in four of the last seven matches, and senior Bailey Madrzyk (2.00 k/s) is second on the team in kills and third in total blocks.
• Flack and senior Hannah George have combined to hand out 9.76 assists per set, while Wilhelm is averaging a team-high 3.70 digs.

PLAYOFF PUSH
• Babson enters Tuesday's match alongside MIT as the only two teams unbeaten in NEWMAC play.
• The Beavers (7-0) and Engineers (6-0) are on a collision course to decide the league's regular season champion and the top seed for next month's conference tournament when they meet on October 25 in Cambridge.
• A victory over Wheaton on Tuesday would ensure that Babson is no worse than the second seed in the seven-team tournament.

BEAVERS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
• Seebold ranks sixth in Division III in assists per set (10.41), while Gips (.349) and Zuloaga (.346) are 34th and 43rd, respectively, in hitting percentage.
• Babson enters the week ranked 11th in opponent hitting percentage (.089).

BEAVER BITES
• Senior Jordan Lapins recorded the 500th kill of her career in Saturday's loss to Endicott and ranks 21st in Babson with 502 kills.
• Gips has eight or more kills in five straight matches and is hitting .351 during this stretch.
• Sophomore Tatum Stelter averaged 4.50 digs per set in three matches last week and has recorded at least one service ace in five straight contests.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 7-0 inside Staake Gymnasium this fall and boasts a .890 winning percentage (113-14) under 12th-year head coach Eric Neely.
• The Beavers have recorded more kills than their opponents in 18 of 19 matches this season.
• The Green and White is 14-0 on the year when winning the first set.
• Babson is 12-0 this season when hitting .200 or better.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers are off until October 18 when they travel to Boston to face Simmons at 7 p.m.

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