BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) hit .522 and finished with 13 kills and three blocks to help Babson College defeat visiting Williams College in three sets, 25-20, 25-23, 25-18, to beg in the ninth edition of the New England Challenge on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its 17th win in the last 18 matches, Babson improves to 21-2 overall. Williams has dropped its last two outings to fall to 10-8 on the year. 

Junior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) registered nine kills and three blocks, while both senior Lauren Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) added five kills and three blocks to pace the Beavers. Sophomore Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out a match-high 26 assists and senior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) led all players with 17 digs in the win. 

Junior Annaliese Fricke (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded a match-high 14 kills and first-year Kate Lane (Kentfield, Calif.) contributed nine kills to lead the Ephs. Sophomore Morgan Daetz (Danville, Calif.) handed out 21 assists and senior Sidra Wohlwend (Henderson, Nev.) finished with a team-high 14 digs in the loss. 

Down 11-6 in the first, the Green and White scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 14-13 lead on a kill by Fouche. The teams traded the next six points before the Beavers ran off five straight points to take their largest lead of the stanza at 22-16 on a block by sophomore Nora Whitehurst (Atlanta, Ga.) and Allen. 

Game two featured 11 ties and eight lead changes with neither team leading by more than three at any point. The Ephs took their largest advantage of the frame at 15-12 on a kill by first-year Lilly Carstens (Plano, Texas) before Babson countered with a 9-3 run that included two kills by Gips, an ace by Stelter and a block by Whitehurst and Allen to go up 21-18. 

Williams scored five of the next six points to regain a 23-22 edge, but Allen and Griffin answered with kills around a bad set by Carstens to help the Green and White close out a 25-23 victory. 

The Beavers got five early kills from Gips to jump out to a 12-6 lead in the third. The Ephs closed within four on three occasions, the last coming at 19-15, but Allen produced a pair of kills and Fouche and first-year Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) combined on a pair of blocks to help finish off the match. 

Both teams are set to play two matches beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Babson faces Tufts and Middlebury, while Williams takes on No. 4 MIT and Springfield. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 4-8 all-time against Williams and have won all three matches between the teams inside Staake Gymnasium (2015, 2019, 2024). 
•    Babson is now 10-14 all-time in the New England Challenge, which includes a 5-1 record in matches played in Babson Park. 
•    The Green and White is now 33-0 going back to the start of last season when its opponents hit .150 or below after holding the Ephs to a .132 hitting percentage on Friday night. 
•    The Beavers are now 16-1 this season and 57-3 over the last three years when winning the opening set.