BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Lauren Gips (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 29 kills and hit .400 on the day as the Babson College women's volleyball team rallied for a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium. 

The Beavers came back from a set down to defeat the Coast Guard Academy in five, 25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 25-12, 15-12, and dropped a close first set before dispatching Colby College in four sets, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15. Babson, which has won eight consecutive matches, is now 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the NEWMAC. 

Babson 3, Coast Guard 2
Gips recorded season highs of 17 kills and six blocks and senior Erin Gray (Oakland, Calif.) added 15 kills and a season-best seven digs to lead the Beavers. Sophomore Roz Cabuena (Kailua, Hawaii) finished with 28 digs and a match-high four service aces, while first-year Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) dished out 38 assists to go along with 12 digs in the win. 

Senior Sophia Galdamez (Cardiff by Sea, Calif.) had 16 kills, classmate Maeve Duffin (Hawthorne, N.J.) handed out 35 assists and junior Kaela France (Ellicott Calhan, Colo.) led all players with 32 digs in the loss for the Bears. 

Leading 15-14 in the opening stanza, the Green and White scored 10 of the final 12 points to win the opening set. Coast Guard (10-4, 0-2 NEWMAC) evened the match by hitting .237 in game two and used a 14-4 run to close out the third for a one-set advantage. 

Deadlocked at six early in the fourth, the Beavers got a kill from first-year Allison Molendyk (Danville, Calif.) and then scored nine straight points on the serve of junior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) and four more on Cabuena's serve to build a commanding 21-7 edge on the way to forcing a fifth set. The Bears erased an early 6-2 deficit in the deciding game but senior Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) responded with a kill, Gray and Gips combined for a block on the next point and Cabuena served up her final ace of the match to give the hosts a 13-10 lead they would not relinquish. 

Babson 3, Colby 1
Gray led all players with 15 kills, Gips had 12 kills and five blocks and Molendyk chipped in with 11 kills for the Green and White. Ackerman finished with 41 assists and 15 digs, Cabuena registered a team-high 18 digs and senior Olivia Leinenweber (Neptune Beach, Fla.) led all players with four aces in the win. 

First-year Brady Moseley (San Juan Capo, Calif.) finished with nine kills and classmate Reanna Yadao (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded a match-high 19 digs to pace the Mules, who hit a season-low -.046. 

The first set featured 13 ties and five lead changes with the biggest advantage coming on a kill by Gray to make it 13-9. A kill by Gips and a Colby (7-3) error gave the Beavers a 24-23 lead, but the visitors took advantage of three straight miscues by the Beavers to steal the opening stanza, 26-24. 

Babson responded in game two as it built a 13-5 lead and took advantage of 11 errors by the Mules to even the match. The Green and White led by as many as four early in the third but was down 19-16 before closing the frame with a 9-3 run. Molendyk had two kills and sophomore Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) added another to pull even at 20-20 and the Beavers took advantage of four straight errors by Colby to go in front for good. 

Babson carried its momentum into the fourth opening with an 11-2 run and taking its largest lead of the game at 16-5 on an ace by Stelter. The hosts put away 15 kills while hitting .400 in the game. 

Babson returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Wellesley at 7 p.m. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are 20-23 all-time against Coast Guard and have won 14 straight matches in the series. 
•    Babson is now 6-1 all-time against Colby with victories in each of the last four matchups. 
•    The Beavers are 3-0 this season in five-set matches and 28-0 since the start of last year when wining the first set. 
•    Since arriving prior to the 2011 campaign, the Green and White is 119-16 at home under head coach Eric Neely.