Women's Volleyball 10/3/2022 12:00:00 AM

Match Preview: No. 19 Women's Volleyball vs. Emerson

No. 19 Women's Volleyball vs. Emerson
Tuesday, October 4 | 7 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 10-3 all-time against Emerson in a series that dates back to 2009.
• The Beavers have won seven of their last eight matches versus the Lions, who handed the Green and White its only loss of the 2019 regular season.
• Babson is 6-0 all-time against Emerson inside Staake Gymnasium, which includes five consecutive three-set wins since 2011.

LAST MEETING
• Senior Lauren MacDonald finished with 15 kills, Allie Puccio '21 M'22 recorded 13 kills and senior Jordan Lapins chipped in with 12 to help Babson earn a four-set (25-22, 25-16, 19-25, 25-13) win over Emerson on October 5, 2021, in Boston.
• Junior Ruby Reich dished out 44 assists and Maddie Malee had 25 digs for the Beavers, who hit .276 as a team.
• Sophomore Amelia Combs finished with 12 kills and 13 digs, while classmate Parker Cummings added 10 kills and two blocks to lead the Lions.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (15-1, 6-0 NEWMAC) defeated Gordon, 3-0, on Saturday to extend its winning streak to 14 matches.
• Junior Lauren Gips had eight kills, four blocks and was one of three players to record four service aces for the Beavers, who hit .230 on the afternoon.
• First-year Isabella Allen ranks fifth in the conference in kills per set (3.05), Gips is averaging 2.76 kills and ranks third in blocks per set (1.08) and fifth in hitting percentage (.371), and junior Lulu McShane is contributing 2.31 kills per set to go along with a .298 hitting percentage.
• Graduate student Izzy Seebold is dishing out a league-best 10.56 assists per set, while first-year Roz Cabuena ranks fifth in the NEWMAC averaging 4.71 digs per set.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Emerson (10-1, 3-1 NEWMAC) extended its winning streak to five with a 3-0 victory over Coast Guard on Saturday.
• Combs and Cummings combined for 24 kills while hitting .429 and Caroline Bond finished with 29 assists, six digs and five aces for the Lions, who have won nine of their 10 matches in three sets.
• Combs ranks second in the conference in kills per set (3.41) and is also averaging 2.97 digs per set, Cummings (3.28 k/s) is hitting .336 and sophomore Isabella Chu is contributing 2.39 kills per set.
• Bond ranks fourth in the league in assists per set (8.50), while junior Caroline Davis is second in the NEWMAC averaging 5.52 digs per set.

GIPS COLLECTS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• After totaling 20 kills against just three errors while hitting .500 in wins over WPI, Clark and Gordon, Gips was tabbed as the NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• She averaged 2.86 kills, 1.29 blocks and 4.14 points per set to help the Beavers earn a trio of three-set sweeps.

FINDING A RHYTHM
• Over its last six matches, Babson has dropped just one set and is averaging 11.79 kills per set while hitting .263 as a team.
• Six different players are contributing at least two kills per set, the Beavers have hit .219 or better in every match and have recorded at least 36 kills in five of six contests.

BEAVER BITES
• Senior Martina Jankovic Chin has at least one block in seven consecutive matches, while Gips and senior Laura Zuloaga have both recorded a block in five straight outings.
• Babson's 14-match winning streak is the second longest active streak in Division III behind only 15-0 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which handed the Beavers their only loss of the season back on September 2.
• The 15-match winning streak is also the second longest in program history for the Green and White behind only its 22-match run back in 2019.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson, which ranks seventh in Division III in opponent hitting percentage (.075) is 14-0 this season when its foes hit .150 or less.
• The Beavers are 6-0 this fall and 112-14 inside Staake Gymnasium under head coach Eric Neely going back to 2011.
• The Green and White is 13-0 this season when winning the opening set.
• Babson has finished with more service aces than its opponents in 14 of 15 wins and is 10-0 this year when recording 10 or more aces.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers travel to Beverly, Mass., to take on Endicott and Brandeis beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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