MARLBOROUGH, Mass.—Three members of the Babson College women's volleyball team were recognized when the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) announced its postseason awards on Tuesday morning.
Junior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) and sophomore
Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) were named to the All-Conference First Team and senior
Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) is a Second Team selection. Ackerman becomes a two-time All-Conference selection while the other two were honored for the first time in their careers.
A three-year starter at setter, Ackerman ranks second in the NEWMAC with 8.96 assists per set with a total of 995 assists. She also leads the league with a career-high 70 service aces and ranks second with an average of 0.63 aces per set. She is five assists away from reaching 1000 assists in a season, just the fifth time a Babson setter has reached the milestone, and her 60 aces currently ranks 11th on Babson's all-time single-season list for aces in a season. Ackerman produced a season-high 50 assists in a win over William Smith on November 1 and had at least one service ace in 27 of her 29 matches, including a season-best seven aces in a victory over Brandeis on September 12.
A two-time All-Region and All-America honorable mention, Ackerman has totaled 2,875 career assists, which ranks third on Babson's career lists for assists. She has also recorded 178 career service aces to rank fifth on Babson's all-time list.
A 6-2 middle blocker, Holm has registered 81 blocks and an average of 0.84 blocks per set to rank sixth in the NEWMAC. She also has a team-high .335 attack percentage, which ranks in the top five among Babson's all-time leaders in single-season percentage, producing 196 kills and ranking fifth in the conference in hitting percentage. Holm had at least two blocks in 24 of her 28 matches, including a career-high eight blocks in a win over Middlebury on October 23 and again in the NEWMAC championship match against MIT. She also had at least eight kills 11 times, including a career-high 15 winners in a conference victory over Wheaton on September 23.
A two-year standout for the Beavers, Holm has collected 136 career blocks through two years as well as 287 kills.
A 5-10 outside hitter, Allen leads the Beavers with 259 kills and 2.67 kills per set in her 27 matches. She registered double-digit kills in four of her last five contests and 14 matches overall, including a season-high 15 winners in a win over William Smith on November 1. She also recorded 59 digs and 21 blocks for the Beavers.
A four-year regular for the Green and White, Allen has registered 926 kills and 2.60 kills per set as well and 192 digs and 67 blocks. She ranks fifth on the Babson all-time list for kills and 12th in kills per set.
The Beavers are 22-7 overall after finishing 10-1 in the conference during the regular season and falling to No. 12 MIT in five sets in the NEWMAC Tournament final. Babson earned an at-large berth and will compete in the NCAA Division III tournament for the seventh time in the last eight years, and will face No. 21 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a first-round match on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Middletown, Conn.
