BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Erin Gray (Oakland, Calif.) and sophomore Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) paced a balanced attack with eight kills apiece to help Babson College defeat visiting WPI in three sets, 25-18, 25-19, 25-9, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its 14th straight win, Babson improves to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in league play. WPI slips to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in the NEWMAC. 

Senior Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) contributed seven kills and three blocks and junior Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) added six kills and four blocks for the Beavers. Junior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) led all players with 12 digs and six service aces, while first-year Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) and senior Ruby Reich (Atlanta, Ga.) handed out 14 and 10 assists, respectively. 

Senior Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, Mass.) finished with six kills and two blocks, while graduate student Catherine Reynolds (Concord, N.H.) totaled 11 assists, six kills and four digs to lead the Engineers. 

The Green and White never trailed in the opening set jumping out to an 8-3 lead before getting kills from Gips and Gray around an ace by senior Olivia Leinenweber (Neptune Beach, Fla.) to extend the margin to 16-9. Back-to-back kills by Reynolds helped WPI pull back within four but the Beavers used two more kills by Gray and an ace by Ackerman as part of 6-1 run go up as many as nine late in the frame. 

The Engineers got three kills from Deckers to build an 8-5 edge early in game two before Babson responded with a 15-3 spurt that included four kills by Allen and two aces from Stelter for a 20-11 advantage. The visitors got as close as six late in the stanza but kills by Allen, sophomore Lilly Steiner (Hingham, Mass.) and Gray closed things out for a 2-0 lead. 

The Beavers dominated the third set serving up seven aces and hitting .391 with 11 kills to complete the sweep. Stelter recorded three aces as part of an opening five-point run and two kills by Gray along with aces from Gips and Ackerman extended the margin to 13-5. 

Babson returns to action next Tuesday when it hosts Simmons at 7 p.m., while WPI takes on No. 23 MIT next Saturday at 11 a.m.

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 33-11 all-time against WPI and have won seven consecutive matches between the teams since 2016. 
•    Babson's 14 straight wins are good for the third longest active streak in Division III behind only No. 1 Juniata (40) and No. 2 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (20). 
•    The Green and White has won its last 33 matches when taking the opening set. 
•    The Beavers are 6-0 in league play for just the third time in school history joining the 2014 and 2022 squads.