Women's Volleyball 10/28/2022 12:00:00 AM

Match Preview: Women's Volleyball vs. Smith

Women's Volleyball vs. Smith
Saturday, October 29 | 1 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 15-22 all-time against Smith in a series that dates back to 1987.
• The Beavers have won seven in a row and 11 of their last 12 matches overall against the Pioneers with the lone loss coming in five sets back in 2013.
• Babson has won six consecutive matches over Smith inside Staake Gymnasium since 2008.

LAST MEETING
• Allie Puccio '21 M'22 recorded 10 kills to become the program's all-time leader and junior Caroline Applewhite finished with 28 assists and seven digs to lead Babson to a three-set sweep (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) of Smith on October 30, 2021, in Northampton, Mass.
• Senior Laura Zuloaga added six kills and five blocks for the Beavers, who hit .292 over the first two sets.
• Olivia Smith registered eight kills and Kinsey Cronin hit .500 and had seven kills for the Pioneers.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (19-6, 8-1 NEWMAC), which is ranked second in Region II, is looking to snap a four-match skid after dropping a 3-0 decision at No. 19 MIT on Tuesday.
• Junior Lauren Gips recorded eight kills and two blocks, graduate student Izzy Seebold dished out 20 assists and sophomore Tatum Stelter had a team-high 15 digs for the Beavers, who hit a season-low .000 in the loss.
• First-year Isabella Allen ranks fifth in the NEWMAC in kills per set (2.94), Gips ranks among the top 10 in the conference in kills per set (2.74), blocks per set (0.86) and hitting percentage (.326), and Zuloaga is averaging 2.19 kills per set and is sixth in the league with a .326 hitting percentage.
• Seebold is handing out a NEWMAC-best 10.00 assists per set, first-year Roz Cabuena is averaging a team-high 4.67 digs per set, and Stelter is contributing 3.43 digs per set on the year.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
• Smith (19-10, 4-5 NEWMAC), which is ranked seventh in the region, has dropped three straight matches after suffering a 3-2 loss at Springfield on Tuesday night.
• Sarah Dankovich finished with 15 kills, 13 digs and three blocks, while Miranda Oakes had five kills and seven block assists for the Pioneers, who recorded just 16 kills while dropping the first two sets.
• Abby Hunt is averaging a team-high 2.60 kills per set, Mia Moscicki (2.11 k/s) is hitting .203 and Ava Zollinger (1.31 k/s, 1.08 b/s) leads the NEWMAC in total blocks.
• Sophia Padilla and Nathalie Pak have combined to dish out 9.45 assists per set, while Gabby Beckerman leads the team in total digs (396) and digs per set (3.70).

WHAT'S AT STAKE
• The Beavers are locked into the No. 2 seed and will host a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal match on Tuesday night.
• Babson, which is second in the most recent NCAA Region II rankings, can add to its NCAA Tournament resume over regionally-ranked Smith.
• The Pioneers can secure their second consecutive NEWMAC Tournament berth with a win or a victory by Wheaton over Clark.

BEAVER BITES
• Gips has recorded seven or more kills in 10 of 11 matches in the month of October and is averaging 2.81 kills per set during this stretch.
• Stelter is averaging 4.59 digs per set over the last nine contests and has served up at least one ace in 11 consecutive outings.
• Seebold currently owns the highest assist per set total in single-season program history (10.00) and ranks 14th in Division III.

HOME SWEET HOME
• The Beavers are 8-1 this season at home and have gone 114-15 inside Staake Gymnasium since head coach Eric Neely took over in 2011.
• The Green and White, which suffered a four-set loss to Middlebury on October 21, has dropped consecutive home matches just once going back to October 2015.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• A victory on Saturday would give the Beavers nine NEWMAC wins for the third year in a row and just the fourth time in program history.
• The Green and White is 16-0 on the year when winning the opening set.
• The Beavers are 13-0 this fall and 77-2 going back to 2018 when they hit .200 or better.
• A win over Smith would give the Beavers their fifth consecutive 20-win season.

UP NEXT
• Babson will host a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal match on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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