BOSTON—Senior Martina Jankovic Chin (Zapresic, Croatia) finished with a career-high 15 kills and sophomore Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) added a career-best 24 digs to help No. 23 Babson College escape with a five-set win (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11) over Simmons University in non-conference women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside the Holmes Sports Center.

With its second straight win, Babson improves to 19-2 on the year. Simmons, which has dropped two straight matches, slips to 12-8 overall.

Jankovic Chin hit .379 and added a season-high five blocks, while junior Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) registered nine kills and two blocks for the Beavers. Graduate student Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) and junior Ruby Reich (Atlanta, Ga.) combined for 44 assists and first-year Sophia Shaw (Novato, Calif.) and senior Jordan Lapins (Calgary, Alberta) added 15 and 11 digs, respectively.

Junior Claire Conners (Albany, Calif.) led all players with 20 digs and classmate Jayla Parnell (Oregon City, Ore.) added nine kills and 10 digs to pace the Sharks. Fellow junior Kat Simeonidis (Lake Mary, Fla.) finished with 30 assists, 11 digs, five service aces and three kills in the loss.

The Green and White raced out to an 8-1 lead in the opening stanza but needed a pair of late kills from Jankovic Chin to close it out after Simmons twice pulled within one. Game two featured nine ties and three lead changes before the Sharks used a 9-1 run to even the match. Conners followed up three straight errors by Babson with back-to-back aces to put the hosts in front 21-19, and senior Sydney Iannantuono (East Lyme, Conn.) and sophomore Meghan Doxsee (Higganum, Conn.) added late kills to finish off the rally.

The Beavers trailed 16-11 in the third after consecutive kills by Conners before responding with a 14-7 spurt to regain a one-set advantage. Jankovic Chin had eight kills in the frame, which included three in the span of four points that turned a 19-18 deficit into a three-point lead. Simmons scored three straight points to cut its deficit to 24-23 only to see McShane answer with a kill to end the rally.

Game four featured seven ties and six lead changes with neither team leading by more than four. Down 21-18, the Green and White used a service error, an ace by Stelter and a block by Jankovic Chin and McShane to pull even. Parnell answered with a kill to put the Sharks back in front and Simeonidis served up back-to-back aces to cap a four-point burst that sent the match to a decisive fifth set.

Babson trailed 7-5 in the fifth before going on a 10-4 run to close the match. Jankovic Chin gave the visitors a 10-8 lead with her second kill of the stanza and junior Lauren Gips (Orlando, Fla.) followed up three consecutive errors by Simmons with two late kills to help the Beavers avoid the upset.

Babson returns to action on Friday when it hosts Middlebury at 7 p.m., while the Sharks travel to Norwich on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match.

MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 21-7 all-time against Simmons and have won 11 of the last 12 matches in the series.
• Babson is 3-0 in five-set matches this fall.
• The Beavers are 7-2 this season 21-4 in road matches going back to 2019.
• Babson, which held Simmons to a .132 hitting percentage, is now 16-0 on the year when its foes hit .150 or below.