SOUTH HADLEY, Mass.—Junior Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) hit .545 and led all players with 12 kills to help visiting Babson College defeat Mount Holyoke College in three sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-14, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. 

With its 13th consecutive victory, Babson improves to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Mount Holyoke has dropped three of its last four matches to dip to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the NEWMAC. 

Gips added four blocks and three service aces, while senior Erin Gray (Oakland, Calif.) contributed eight kills and a career-high 19 digs for the Beavers. Junior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) finished with 15 digs and three access and the duo of first-year Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) and senior Ruby Reich (Atlanta, Ga.) dished out 14 and 13 assists, respectively. 

Sophomore Madeline Barton (Brookfield, Wis.) recorded eight kills, classmate Sadie Duffrin (Minneapolis, Minn.) led all players with 20 assists and first-year Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) chipped in with 16 digs to pace the Lyons. 

The opening set was deadlocked at 14 before the Green and White took command with a five-point run that saw sophomore Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) serve up an ace and Gips contribute a kill and two block assists to go up 19-14. Gray made it 20-16 with a kill and Gips followed with consecutive aces to give the Beavers a six-point lead. 

The second set featured 21 ties and 14 lead changes with neither team leading by more than three. Mount Holyoke went up 20-19 on a kill by first-year Katie Frank (Prairieville, La.) before a service error and an ace by Stelter put Babson back in front by one. The teams were tied at 22 after trading errors following another kill by Frank, but Gips put away back-to-back kills and Gray added another at set point to give the visitors a two-set advantage. 

The Green and White trailed 7-5 in the third before getting three kills apiece from Gips and senior Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) as part of a 10-1 run to build a commanding 15-8 advantage. The Lyons got as close as three with four straight points before the Beavers closed with a 10-2 spurt to close out the match. 

Both teams return to action on Friday at 6 p.m. as Babson hosts WPI, while Mount Holyoke visits Western New England. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 21-16 all-time against Mount Holyoke and have won 12 straight matches in the series. 
•    Tuesday's victory helps Babson the 2019 and 2022 squads for the best record after 17 matches (16-1) in program history. 
•    Gips has now hit .286 or better while recording at least one block in 11 straight matches going back to last year.
•    The Beavers are now 10-1 on the year away from home.