MIDDLETOWN, Conn.—Senior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) recorded a career-high 19 kills and junior Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) set a new single-season assist record but Babson College suffered a five-set (19-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-10, 15-11) loss to No. 7 Colby College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening inside Silloway Gymnasium. 

Babson, which played its third consecutive five-set match, closes the year at 23-8. Colby improves to 25-3 and advances to the regional final for the first time since 2005. 

Allen finished the match with a .342 hitting percentage, junior Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) added 10 kills and Ackerman handed out 44 assists to surpass the mark of 1,046 in a season set by Elizabeth Cameron '20 back in 2018. Sophomore Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) contributed seven kills and six blocks, first-year Devon Burke (Newtonville, Mass.) also registered seven kills and senior Sophia Shaw (Novato, Calif.) led all players with 16 digs in the loss. 

Junior Brady Moseley (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) led a balanced attack with 14 kills and 14 digs, while both sophomore Ingrid Zahn (South Pasadena, Calif.) and first-year Kendall Glover (Conroe, Texas) finished with nine kills apiece to pace the Mules. Sophomore Cyanne Jones (Pasadena, Calif.) added seven kills and a match-high eight blocks, while first-year Sydeny DeProfio (Mokena, Ill.) and junior Gabby Grujic (San Rafael, Calif.) combined for 45 assists in the victory. 

The opening set featured six ties and a pair of lead changes before the Green and White closed with six of the final seven points. Kills by Allen and Fouche made it 20-18, Ackerman followed with back-to-back service aces, and first-year Misaki Harte (San Jose, Calif.) followed up an error by Moseley with consecutive aces of her own to close out the stanza. 

The Mules answered back in game two jumping out to a 13-5 lead and using 10 kills and three aces to cruse to a 25-16 victory. The third set featured five ties and three lead changes with the teams separated by no more than three points before a late run by the Beavers. Fouche made it 18-16 with a kill, sophomore Emma Watts (Northport, N.Y.) followed with an ace, Ackerman recorded a kill and Holm made it four straight points with a solo block that extended the margin to 21-16. 

Holm added another kill two points later and Allen tacked on two more to put Babson back up a set. 

The Green and White trailed 6-5 early in the fourth before Colby went on an 8-0 run to seize command of the frame that included two kills by Zahn and a kill and two blocks from Jones. The Beavers were unable to get any closer than eight as the Mules hit .400 while recording 14 kills to force a decisive fifth set. 

Allen provided three kills and Fouche and Holm chipped in with one each as Babson raced out to a 7-5 advantage in the fifth. Colby responded with four straight points to go in front 9-7 on a kill by Grujic before the Green and White countered with three of the next four points to pull even at 10-all on a block by Ackerman and first-year Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.). 

Junior Alexa Peguero (Tampa, Fla.) put the Mules ahead for good and Glover offset a kill by Allen with three of her own to close out the match. 

Colby will face either No. 12 Ithaca or No. 17 Wesleyan in Saturday's 5 p.m. regional final. 

MATCH NOTES
•    Babson is now 6-3 all-time against the Mules but dropped a pair of five-set affairs to them this season. 
•    Ackerman finishes the year with a school-recorded 1,086 assists and 74 services aces, which ranks third on the Beavers' single-season chart. 
•    Allen concludes her career ranked fourth in program history with 948 kills and ninth on the all-time list with 990.0 points. 
•    Shaw wraps up her career with 1,134 digs, which is good for eighth in program history. 
•    Three of Babson's last four losses in the second round of the NCAA Tournament have come in five sets including at Tufts in 2023 and against eventual national champions Juniata in 2022. 
•    The Green and White hit .203 in Friday's loss, which snapped a 54-match winning streak when hitting at least .200 that dated back to the start of the 2023 campaign. Its last loss when hitting at least .200 came in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at Tufts.