BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Abby Hunt (Mandeville, La.) and sophomore Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) combined for 35 kills to help visiting Smith College rally to defeat Babson College in four sets, 19-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-21, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With the loss, Babson slips to 22-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play. Smith extended its winning streak to nine and is now 23-5 overall and 8-1 in NEWMAC play.  

Senior Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) recorded 11 kills and five blocks, sophomore Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) contributed eight kills and six blocks, and junior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) added eight kills to pace the Beavers. Sophomore Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out 26 assists to go along with a match-high six service aces, while senior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) led all players with 20 digs in addition to dishing out a season-high 10 assists. 

Etheridge led all players with 18 kills, Hunt hit .350 and totaled 17 kills, and graduate student Taylor Gwynne (Chapel Hill, N.C.) finished with 34 assists, 19 digs and five blocks to lead the Pioneers. Senior Sarah Dankovich (El Paso, Texas) chipped in with 15 digs and classmate Olivia Smith (Mill Valley, Calif.) tied for match-high honors with six aces in the win. 

Three straight service aces by Ackerman gave the Green and White a 12-4 lead and Fouche was in on back-to-back blocks as the hosts took their largest advantage of the opening set at 15-6. Ackerman provided a kill and an ace to make it 21-12 and Allen, Fouche and Gips all produced kill to close out the frame. 

Smith bounced back in game two using three kills from Etheridge during an 8-0 run to build a 17-7 lead that would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. The third set featured seven ties and a pair of lead changes before the Pioneers went in front for good at 17-16 on a kill by Etheridge. The Beavers cut a three-point deficit down to one three times only to see Hunt put away three late kills to give the visitors a one-set advantage. 

An ace by Gwynne, a kill by Etheridge and a block by Hunt helped the visitors jump out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth. Babson responded though, getting a kill and two blocks from Fouche during a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the stanza at 15-14 on a kill by Gips. Smith answered back with six of the next eight points, including three kills by Hunt, to regain a 20-17 advantage. 

Olivia Smith followed a kill by junior Miranda Oakes (San Francisco, Calif.) to make it 23-18 and Etheridge stymied a late rally by the Beavers with a pair of kills to close out the match. 

Babson is off until next Tuesday when it travels to Cambridge to face No. 4 MIT at 6 p.m., while Smith hosts Baruch and Maine Maritime on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 16-24 all-time against Smith and have dropped two straight matches at home in the series. 
•    Babson, which entered the night ranked 17th in Division III in hitting percentage at .247 finished a season-worst .128 in the loss. 
•    The Green and White matched its season high with 13 total blocks in the setback. 
•    Tuesday's loss was just the second in its last 28 matches inside Staake Gymnasium going back to the start of last year.