NEWPORT, R.I.—First-year Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) led a balanced attack with nine kills and sophomore Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) recorded a career-high 21 digs to help No. 22 Babson College defeat Salve Regina University in three sets (25-17, 25-16, 27-25) in non-conference women's volleyball action on Friday night inside the Rodgers Recreation Center.

With its ninth straight win, Babson improves to 10-1 overall, while Salve Regina drops to 5-5 on the year.

Sophomore Lauren Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) matched her career high with seven kills and senior Laura Zuloaga (Naples, Fla.) and junior Lauren Gips (Orlando, Fla.) added six kills apiece without an error for the Beavers. Junior Ruby Reich (Atlanta, Ga.) led three players in double figures with 15 assists, while classmate Olivia Leinenweber (Neptune Beach, Fla.) contributed nine digs in the victory.

Junior Brighton Solheim (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished with 10 kills, 10 digs and three blocks, while graduate student Madison Lee (Dover, Fla.) put away 10 kills to pace the Seahawks. Senior Katelyn O'Brien (Bridgeport, Pa.) led the team with 14 assists and classmate Kate Murphy (Dover, N.H.) totaled 15 digs in the loss.

With the opening set deadlocked at 13-all, Zuloaga sparked a seven-point run with a kill and Griffin added four of her own as the Green and White outscored the hosts 12-3 late in the stanza to take a 1-0 lead. Zuloaga, Gips and senior Jordan Lapins (Calgary, Alberta) combined for seven kills early in game two to help the Beavers build a 14-7 advantage. Salve Regina got as close as four at 15-11, but Lapins and Gips combined for three kills in the span of four points to help Babson pull away.

The Seahawks led by as many as six early in the third set before the Green and White ripped off an 11-2 run to grab a 16-13 lead on a kill by Allen. Back-to-back kills by senior Martina Jankovic Chin (Zapresic, Croatia) and junior Caroline Applewhite (Boca Raton, Fla.) made it 23-20 and the Beavers got a kill from Gips and a block by Jankovic Chin on match point to close out the two-point win.

The Green and White hit .219 as a team on the night while holding the Seahawks to just a .079 hitting percentage.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Mount Holyoke and UMass Dartmouth beginning at 1:30 p.m., while Salve Regina takes on Nichols at 1 p.m.

MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are now 4-3 all-time against Salve Regina and Friday's match was the first between the teams since 2013.
• Babson is 5-0 this season and 68-2 going back to 2018 when hitting at a .200 clip or better.
• The Green and White is 33-3 in the month of September since 2019.
• The Beavers are 9-0 this fall and 53-1 since 2019 when their opponents hit .150 or below.