WORCESTER, Mass.—Sophomore Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out a season-high 55 assists to go along with nine digs, five aces and five blocks to help head coach Eric Neely record his 300th career win as visiting Babson College defeated WPI in five sets, 25-15, 24-26, 25-14, 25-27, 15-8, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Harrington Auditorium. 

With its 15th consecutive win, Babson improves to 19-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play. WPI drops to 5-12 overall and 0-6 in the NEWMAC with its eighth straight loss. 

Junior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) led four players in double figures with 17 kills, while senior Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) added 15 kills and five blocks to pace the Beavers. Sophomore Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) contributed 12 kills and a career-high 13 digs, senior Lauren Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) added 10 kills and junior Sophia Shaw (Novato, Calif.) finished with 23 digs in the win. 

Senior Lily Eldridge (Danvers, Mass.) provided 15 kills, 19 assists and 12 digs, while juniors Fiona Gillis (Manchester, N.H.) and Audrey Stroupe (Leesburg, Va.) both registered 13 kills to lead the Engineers. First-year Preslie Jerebker (Denver, Colo.) finished with 23 assists and 17 digs, and junior Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) led all players with 29 digs in the loss. 

The Green and White put together two different six-point runs, scored 10 points on the serve of Gips and led by as many as 14 in taking the opening set. The Beavers took a 16-9 advantage on an ace by Shaw in game two before WPI came roaring back with a 13-6 spurt to pull even at 22 on a kill by sophomore Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, Calif.). The visitors went back in front 24-23 on a kill by Griffin, but the Engineers used back-to-back kills by Gillis and Eldridge followed by a block by Hudson to close out the game and even the match at a set apiece. 

Babson hit .323 in the third and closed the stanza with an 8-0 run that included three aces by Ackerman and a pair of kills by Allen, and built a quick 9-3 lead in the fourth before WPI responded with an extended 15-6 spurt for an 18-15 advantage. The Beavers erased a 24-22 deficit thanks to consecutive kills by Allen and fought off a third set point on a kill by first-year Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) before the hosts took advantage of back-to-back errors to force a fifth set. 

The Green and White dominated the decisive game, jumping out to a 9-2 lead and hitting .318 with eight kills to escape the Engineers' upset bid. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Salve Regina at 1 p.m., while WPI visits MIT at 11 a.m. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 34-11 all-time against WPI and have won eight consecutive matches in the series. 
•    Neely, who is now in his 14th season at Babson, boasts a career record of 300-110 and ranks 18th among active Division III coaches with a .732 winning percentage. 
•    Babson, which had not gone to five sets with WPI since 2015, has won seven of its last eight five-set matches going back to the start of last season. 
•    The Green and White is now 6-0 this fall in road and neutral matches.