BOSTON—First-year Allison Molendyk (Danville, Calif.) registered eight of her match-high 21 kills in the decisive fifth set as visiting Babson College outlasted Emerson College, 25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Brown & Plofker Gymnasium. 

With its sixth consecutive victory, Babson improves to 9-1 overall and starts league play at 1-0, while Emerson slips to 7-3 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC. 

Senior Erin Gray (Oakland, Calif.) finished with 12 kills and four blocks, classmate Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) contributed nine kills, a season-high 11 digs and four blocks, and junior Lauren Gips (Orlando, Fla.) returned to the lineup with eight kills and four blocks to lead the Beavers. First-year Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) led all players with 45 assists and junior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) recorded a season-high 22 digs in the win. 

Junior Parker Cummings (Rochester, N.Y.) put away 15 kills, first-year Rachel Dickerson (Frisco, Texas) finished with 12 kills and classmate Maya Hall (New York, N.Y.) added 11 kills and three blocks for the Lions. Fellow rookie Mia Rodriguez (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) handed out 40 assists and senior Caroline Davis (Orlando, Fla.) led three players in double figures with 17 digs. 

The Green and White hit .290 in the opening set and served up five aces while scoring the final 10 points to pull away for a 1-0 lead. Emerson returned the favor in game two closing with a 9-1 run after the teams combined for 13 ties and eight lead changes to even the match at a set apiece. 

The Beavers jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the third and responded with a kill by McShane and back-to-back aces by Stelter as part of a four-point run after the Lions had pulled even to rebuild a 20-16 edge. Babson held a two-point lead after a kill by Molendyk but was unable to hold off the hosts, who got kills from Dickinson and Hall, an ace by graduate student Andrea Mendez (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) and a block by Rodriguez and Hall leading 24-23 to take a one-set lead. 

Babson led by as many as five midway through game four and took the lead for good at 18-17 on a block by Gips and McShane. Molendyk and Gips both added a pair of kills down the stretch to force a decisive fifth set.

The Green and White never trailed in the final stanza, hitting .476 and recording 11 kills to complete the comeback. Molendyk followed kills by Gips and Gray with two of her own to give the Beavers an 11-7 lead and the Lions were unable to get closer than two the rest of the way. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Coast Guard and Colby beginning at 11 a.m., while Emerson takes on WPI and UMass Dartmouth. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 12-3 all-time against Emerson and have won nine of the last 10 matches between the teams. 
•    Babson is 5-2 over the last two seasons in five-set matches. 
•    The Green and White is now 27-0 since the start of last season when winning the first set. 
•    The Beavers, who hit .203 in Tuesday's win, are 6-0 this fall when finishing with a hitting percentage of .200 or better.