BABSON PARK, Mass.—Babson College came back from two sets down to defeat UMass Dartmouth and followed it up with a three-set victory over 14th-ranked Wesleyan University to wrap up the Babson Invitational on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium. 

The Beavers edged the Corsairs 23-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 15-13 before handing the Cardinals their first loss, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18. 

With Saturday's sweep, Babson improves to 6-1 on the year. Wesleyan is now 3-1, while UMass Dartmouth concluded the weekend at 4-2 overall. 

Babson 3, UMass Dartmouth 2
Seniors Lauren Gips (Winter Park, Fla.) and Lauren Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) both recorded 16 kills, sophomore Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) dished out 50 assists to go along with 16 digs, and junior Sophia Shaw (Novato, Calif.) finished with a career-high 46 digs to lead the Beavers. Gips led all players with four blocks, first-year Sophia Ibarra (Coral Gables, Fla.) contributed a season-high nine kills and junior Roz Cabuena (Kailua, Hawaii) added 17 digs in the win. 

Senior Kate Wade (San Clemente, Calif.) led all players with 20 kills, sophomore Allison Pate (Sebring, Fla.) finished with 10 kills and 27 digs, and junior Emily Pogorelec (Wayne, N.J.) chipped in with 32 digs to lead the Corsairs. 

The first two sets featured 14 ties and nine lead changes with UMass Dartmouth closing strong in both frames to grab a 2-0 lead. The Beavers responded in the third, getting out to an early lead before holding off a late rally by the visitors. Griffin and first-year Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo) provided kills during a three-point spurt to push the margin back to 19-15 and Babson got a service ace from first-year Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) after three straight Corsairs' errors to force a fourth set. 

Trailing 12-9, the Green and White went on an 8-1 run that included three kills by sophomore Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) and one apiece by Griffin and Ibarra to go in front for good. The visitors got as close as one twice but Griffin responded with a kill each time and added her fourth of the stanza on set point to send the match a decisive fifth set. 

UMass Dartmouth raced out to a 4-0 lead and remained in front 13-11 after a kill by Wade before the hosts rallied late. A kill by Gips cut the deficit to one, Babson tied it on an error by the Corsairs and took its first lead of the stanza on a service ace by Frosk at 14-13. Frosk then scored the deciding point on her serve when the visitors were whistled for a rotation error. 

Babson 3, Wesleyan 0
Gips hit a blistering .593 and matched her career high with 18 kills to go along with three blocks and two service aces, while junior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) provided 11 kills to lead the Beavers. Ackerman dished out 32 assists, senior Tatum Stelter (Glendale, Ariz.) recorded a match-high 10 digs and Holm and Fouche contributed six and four blocks, respectively, in the win. 

Senior Michelle Jorba (New York, N.Y.) and first-year Sophie Corbeil (Houston, Texas) both registered six kills and classmate Adrienne Nguyen (Hillsboro, Ore.) totaled a team-high nine digs for the Cardinals. 

The Green and White jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead and recorded 18 kills while hitting .333 in a dominant first-set performance. Gips and Allen had a hand in seven of the Beavers' first 10 points and Allen and Holm combined for three consecutive kills to give the hosts their largest lead of the stanza at 16-7. Wesleyan pulled back within six before Gips registered four kills in the span of five points to extend the margin back to 21-12. 

Game two featured nine ties and five lead changes before the Beavers pulled away with a late run. Holm and Ackerman combined for a block following two kills and an ace by Gips for a three-point advantage, Holm came up with another block and Griffin added a kill to make it 23-18. Fouche and Holm then combined on another block to close out the set. 

The Beavers never trailed in game three while putting away 15 kills and hitting .257. The Green and White took a 9-5 lead on a block by Fouche and Holm and extended its advantage to 15-10 thanks to an ace by Stelter and a kill by Allen. Wesleyan got as close as two three times late in the stanza, the last time coming at 19-17, but Fouche and Holm answered with kills and then combined on another block to stretch the margin back to five.  

Babson is off until September 17 when it travels to Simmons for a 7 p.m. match. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 12-11 all-time against UMass Dartmouth, which includes two straight five-set wins, and 3-3 all-time against Wesleyan. 
•    Babson is now 6-1 over the last two seasons in five-set matches. 
•    The Green and White, which held Wesleyan to its lowest hitting percentage since September 2017 (.060), is now 6-0 this fall when its foes hit .150 or worse. 
•    The Beavers have now won 18 of their last 19 home matches dating back to the 2022 NEWMAC Tournament.