NORTON, Mass.—Sophomore Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) recorded a career-high 15 kills as visiting Babson College defeated Wheaton College in four sets, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its third straight win, Babson improves to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Wheaton, which had its two-match winning streak snapped, drops to 6-7 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC. 

Holm made just one error and finished with a .609 hitting percentage, while senior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) contributed 12 kills to pace the Beavers. Junior Allison Molendyk (Danville, Calif.) added eight kills, classmate Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out 28 assists and first-year Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) matched Holm with three blocks to lead all players in the victory. 

Senior Celine Henn (Atwater, Calif.) registered 13 kills, classmate Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) finished with 12 kills, and junior Ajsa Orban (Budapest, Hungary) led all players with 29 assists to go along with nine digs to lead the Lyons. Classmate Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) also contributed match highs of 20 digs and four service aces in the loss. 

The Green and White led by as many as three twice in the opening stanza but was unable to keep pace as Wheaton recorded 15 kills in 21 swings for a .619 hitting percentage to pull away for a one-set lead. The Lyons got a pair of kills from junior Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) and two aces from Hochberg as part of a four-point run and matched their largest lead of game two at 18-13 on a kill by Orban before Babson responded with a closing 12-5 run. 

Junior Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) and Holm each provided two kills during a 7-1 run that put the visitors in front 20-19, and Allen followed up another kill by Holm to make it 22-20. The hosts tied it on a kill by Lyon but the Beavers, who hit .567 in the frame, went ahead for good on a bad set by Henn and got late kills from Munro and Allen to level the match. 

Game three featured six ties and four lead changes before the Green and White used a pair of blocks, an ace by senior Sophia Shaw (Novato, Calif.) and a kill from Holm during a five-run to forge a 19-14 advantage. Allen put away kills after Wheaton closed within three on two occasions, and Babson took advantage of two late errors by the hosts to close out the set. 

The fourth played out much the same way as there were eight ties and four lead changes before the Beavers scored 11 of the final 14 points to pull away. Ackerman and Holm combined on a block to make it 16-14, Munro and Molendyk followed with another block to stretch the lead to four, and Molendyk, Fouche and Allen provided late kills to secure the victory. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. as Babson travels to Smith, while Wheaton hits the road to face Wellesley. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 24-32 all-time against Wheaton and have won eight straight and 12 of the last 13 matches in the series since 2013.
•    Babson has now won 12 consecutive NEWMAC openers going back to 2012. 
•    The Green and White, which hit .371 and made just eight attack errors in the win, finished with a season-low four service aces. 
•    Shaw, who led the Beavers with nine digs and two aces, now has at least one ace in 10 straight matches.