Women's Volleyball at the New England Challenge
Friday, October 24 | vs. Middlebury, 7 p.m. 
Saturday, October 25 | vs. Williams, 11 a.m. | vs. Tufts, 3 p.m.
Dana Gym | Springfield, Mass. 

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The Babson women's volleyball team will travel to Springfield, Mass., to compete in the 10th edition of the New England Challenge, which features the top three squads from the NEWMAC taking on three of the best from the NESCAC over two days. 
•    The Beavers open the weekend against Middlebury on Friday night before facing Williams and Tufts on Saturday. 

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Middlebury
•    Babson is 4-6 all-time against the Panthers in a series that goes back to 2015.
•    The Beavers snapped a three-game skid in the series with a 33-31, 25-22, 25-22 victory last season and the teams have now split their last six matches since 2018.
•    Three of Babson's four wins in the all-time series have come in three sets, while five of its six losses have been decided in four of five games. 

vs. Williams
•    The Beavers are 4-8 all-time versus the Ephs in a series that dates back to 2022.
•    The teams have split four matches since 2021, three of which have been decided in four sets. 
•    Babson defeated Williams 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 last October inside Staake Gymnasium. 

vs. Tufts
•    Babson is just 3-21 all-time against the Jumbos in a series that goes back to 1980.
•    The Beavers, who suffered a 25-17, 26-24, 25-23 loss in last year's matchup, are 2-3 versus Tufts since 2019, which includes each team winning a five-set thriller. 
•    All three of Babson's wins in the all-time series have come since 2015. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Babson (14-4) had its 10-match winning streak snapped in a three-set (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) loss to No. 16 MIT on Tuesday night. 
•    Senior Isabella Allen recorded nine kills, junior Hailey Fouche and sophomore Angelina Holm both finished with six kills and three blocks while combining to hit .435, and junior Zoe Ackerman contributed 30 assists and 10 digs for the Beavers, who led 17-13 in both the first and third sets. 
•    Allen is averaging a team-high 2.61 kills per set, junior Allison Molendyk is providing 2.25 kills per set and Fouche (2.22 k/s) is hitting a career-best .232 on the year. 
•    Holm (2.18 k/s) and first-year Ailsa Munro are both averaging 0.86 blocks per set, Ackerman is handing out 8.74 assists per set and leads the Green and White with 43 service aces, and senior Sophia Shaw is contributing a team-high 3.60 digs per set to go along with 30 aces.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
•    Middlebury (11-8) has dropped its last four matches including three against nationally-ranked foes after falling 3-0 at No. 17 Wesleyan last Saturday. 
•    Molly Harrison hit .433 and recorded 15 kills, Campbell Bartley produced with 28 assists, 10 digs and two blocks, and Annabella Rando tied for match-high honors with 15 digs for the Panthers, who finished with a .235 hitting percentage in the loss. 
•    Harrison (3.46 k/s, 2.87 d/s) has registered double-digit kills in 15 of the last 16 matches, Gabby Pribisich (2.18 k/s) is hitting .292 and leads the team with 46 total blocks, and Caroline Byrne is averaging 2.18 kills and 2.64 digs per set. 
•    Bartley is handing out 9.91 assists to go along with 2.10 digs per set this fall, while Rando is averaging 4.24 digs per set and leads the team with 34 service aces. 

SCOUTING THE EPHS
•    Williams (15-4) snapped a two-match losing streak with a 3-0 sweep of NYU last Saturday. 
•    Keely Campuzano totaled 12 kills and four blocks, Tatum Baker contributed 10 kills and 11 digs, and the duo of Morgan Daetz and Lilly Carstens combined for 30 assists for the Ephs, who won the opening set 26-24 and hit .263 for the match. 
•    Campuzano is averaging 3.05 kills per set while hitting .266, Chi Obi (2.30 k/s) boasts a .291 hitting percentage and Baker is contributing 1.93 kills and 1.93 digs per set. 
•    Helen Qian (1.05) and Lilly Fox (1.02) rank sixth and seventh respectively in the NESCAC in blocks per set, Daetz and Carstens have combined to hand out 9.60 assists per set, and Eve Kaplan leads the team in total digs (259) and digs per set (3.75). 

SCOUTING THE JUMBOS
•    Tufts (16-4) bounced back from four-set losses at No. 13 Colby and Bowdoin with a 3-0 victory over Maine Maritime last Saturday. 
•    Claire Castor recorded 12 kills, Emma Heckman hit .533 and registered eight kills, and the duo of Lola Tortorello and Ellery Clark combined for 26 assists and 12 digs as the Jumbos recorded their highest hitting percentage of the season (.359) in the sweep.
•    Heckman (2.80 k/s, 0.72 blocks/set) boasts a .269 hitting percentage, Castor is averaging 2.52 kill and 2.19 digs per set, and Maiwenn Kamdje is providing 2.51 kills per set while hitting a team-best .284. 
•    Julia Griffiths is averaging 1.10 blocks per set, Tortorello and Clark are combining to hand out 9.36 assists per set, and Matsa Shi is contributing a team-high 3.22 digs per set to lead the defense.

NEW ENGLAND CHALLENGE HISTORY
•    After winning two of three matches last season, the Beavers are now 11-15 all-time in the New England Challenge, which was started back in 2015.
•    The Green and White went a perfect 3-0 in 2019 and has won at least one match in all but two seasons (2017, 2022) over the last decade. 
•    Over the last two seasons, Babson is 3-3 in the event and has a win over all three of this weekend's opponents.

POSTSEASON IMPACT
•    Five of the six teams competing in this weekend's tournament are ranked among the top 28 in the first NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings released earlier in the week. 
•    Babson (No. 28) is behind MIT (17) and Springfield (27) among the NEWMAC squads, while Tufts (21) and Williams (26) are among four NESCAC teams ranked among the top 30. Middlebury, which lost to eventual national champion Juniata in last year's regional final, is currently ranked 70th.
•    The NPI combines winning percentage, strength of schedule and a quality win bonus to help rank teams and is used to select the 21 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament after 43 conference champions secure their automatic bids. 

UP TO THE CHALLENGE
•    In last October's matches against Middlebury, Williams and Tufts, Ackerman averaged 10.11 assists, 2.22 digs and 1.22 kills per set. 
•    Allen has totaled 52 kills and averaged 2.48 kills per set in six New England Challenge matches over the last two seasons, while Fouche finished with 20 kills and 27 digs and average 2.22 kills and 3.00 digs in last year's tournament. 

TRENDS TO WATCH
•    Allen has finished with eight or more kills in 12 of the last 14 matches dating back to September 12. 
•    Holm has recorded multiple blocks in 16 of 17 matches this season and has at least on block in 24 outings in a row dating back to last season.
•    Shaw has served up at least one ace in each of her last 16 matches and has finished with 13 or more digs in five straight contests while averaging 4.33 digs per set during this stretch.
•    Ackerman has dished out 30 or more assists in seven of Babson's last eight matches. 
•    Munro has contributed four or more total blocks in five consecutive outings and has at least two blocks in 17 of 18 contests this fall.
•    In six matches in the month of October, Fouche is averaging 2.76 kills and 0.94 blocks to go along with a .306 hitting percentage.  

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    Babson is 13-2 this season and 71-6 over the last four seasons when winning the opening set. 
•    The Green and White is 9-1 this fall and has won 43 of its last 43 matches when limiting its opponents to a hitting percentage of .150 or worse. 
•    The Beavers have finished with a hitting percentage of .185 or better just twice over it last nine matches at the New England Challenge going back to 2022.
•    Babson has recorded more kills than its opponents in 17 of 18 matches this fall and is 58-6 when doing so since the start of the 2023 campaign. 

UP NEXT
•    The Beavers jump back into NEWMAC play at Salve Regina on Tuesday at 7 p.m.