Women's Volleyball at the Union Tri-Match
vs. William Smith | 1 p.m.
at Union | 3 p.m.
Viniar Athletic Center | Schenectady, N.Y.

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The Babson volleyball team will step away from NEWMAC play to travel to the Capital Region of New York for a pair of matches against two of the top teams in the Liberty League on Saturday afternoon.
•    The Beavers open the day at 1 p.m. against Union and will then face William Smith at approximately 3 p.m. 

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Union
•    Babson is 1-2 all-time against the Garnet Chargers in a series that dates back to 2013.
•    The Beavers suffered a five-set less in 2013 and a four-set defeat in 2014 before beating Union for the first time back on September 4, 2021, at the Johnson & Wales Invitational in Providence. 

vs. William Smith
•    First meeting

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Babson (17-5) has won three of its last four matches and is coming off a sweep (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) on Tuesday night. 
•    The trio of senior Isabella Allen (9), first-year Liberty May (8) and junior Nora Whitehurst (6) combined for 23 of the team's 34 kills, junior Zoe Ackerman handed out 27 assists and senior Sophia Shaw led all players with 15 digs for the Beavers. 
•    Allen is averaging a team-high 2.61 kills per set while hitting .254 over the last seven matches, junior Hailey Fouche (2.30 k/s) is third on the squad with 48 total blocks, and junior Allison Molendyk is contributing 2.25 kills per set. 
•    First-year Ailsa Munro (0.91) and junior Angelina Holm (0.85) rank fourth and sixth, respectively, in the NEWMAC in blocks per set, Ackerman is averaging 8.76 assists per set and Shaw leads the Green and White in both digs (304) and digs per set (3.80). 

SCOUTING THE GARNET CHARGERS
•    Union (17-8) has won four consecutive matches after cruising to a three-set sweep of Bard on Wednesday night. 
•    Shannon McGrath led all players with 12 kills, Shea Ringel added nine kills and 10 digs, and Allie Kronenberg handed out 32 assists to go along with two service aces for the Garnet Chargers, who hit .324 as a team in the win. 
•    McGrath (4.36 k/s, 2.88 d/s) is hitting .267 and ranks 14th in Division III in kills per set, Ringel is averaging 2.61 kills per set and Georgia Pinciaro is contributing 1.80 kills per set. 
•    Maddie McCarron is averaging 0.92 blocks per set, Kronenberg is dishing out 9.78 assists to go along with 1.96 digs per set, and Georgia Pool leads the defense providing 4.68 digs per set. 

SCOUTING THE HERONS
•    William Smith (19-4) snapped a two-match skid with a 3-0 victory over RIT on Wednesday night. 
•    Malya Sayre led all players with 12 kills and three service aces, Arielle Newsome produced seven kills and six blocks, and Delainy Williams doled out 27 assists for the Herons, who finished the night with a .291 hitting percentage. 
•    Sayre (4.86 k/s, 2.32 d/s) is hitting .280 and ranks first in Division III in points per set (5.73) and third in kills per set, Emily Fulton is averaging 2.69 kills and 2.46 digs per set, and Hope Von Dohlen (2.11 k/s) is hitting .317 on the year.
•    Newsome is averaging 0.92 blocks per set, Williams is handing out 10.75 assists per set and Kali Vanderhoof leads the defense in digs (295) and digs per set (3.88). 

RISING IN THE RECORD BOOKS
•    Allen became just the 10th player in school history to surpass 900 points in Tuesday's win at Salve Regina and also passed Caitlin O'Neill '10 for seventh place on the program's all-time list with her 864 kills.  
•    Shaw, who is set to play in her 100th career match on Saturday, needs just 24 more digs to become the 11th player in Babson history to reach the 1,000-dig milestone. 
•    Ackerman became just the third player in Babson history to surpass 2,500 assists last Saturday at the New England Challenge and is also up to sixth all-time with 161 career service aces. 

TRENDS TO WATCH
•    Allen has finished with eight or more kills in eight of the last nine matches. 
•    Shaw has served up at least one ace in 20 of 21 matches this fall and has finished with 12 or more digs in nine straight contests while averaging 4.14 digs per set during this stretch.
•    Ackerman has dished out 30 or more assists in 10 of Babson's last 12 matches. 
•    Munro has contributed at least two blocks in 20 of 22 contests this fall and averaged 1.20 blocks per set in 10 matches during the month of October. 
•    In nine matches in the month of October, Fouche is averaging 2.71 kills and 0.94 blocks per set to go along with a .251 hitting percentage.  
•    First-year Misaki Harte has recorded 23 service aces over Babson's last 10 matches. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    Babson is 11-4 away from home this season and has won at least 12 road and neutral matches in six of the last seven seasons dating back to 2017. 
•    The Beavers have won the opening set in 19 of 22 matches this fall and is 16-3 when doing so.
•    The Green and White is 12-1 this season and 28-4 over the last two years when recording more blocks than its opponents. 
•    Babson is 14-0 on the year and has won 49 straight matches when hitting .200 or better.

UP NEXT
•    Babson returns home to take on Clark on Tuesday at 7 p.m.