Women's Volleyball vs. Wellesley
Tuesday, September 30 | 7 p.m. 
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 12-34 all-time against Wellesley in a series that dates back to 1980.
•    The Beavers have dominated the series as of late with six consecutive wins and victories in 10 of their last 11 matches versus the Blue since 2014. 
•    The Green and White has won seven in a row against Wellesley inside Staake Gymnasium, which includes a five-set triumph back in 2023. 
•    Four of the last eight matches between the teams have gone to five sets and just two of the last nine have been three-set sweeps. 

LAST MEETING
•    Babson overcame a late four-point deficit in the third set and went on defeat the Blue in four, 23-25, 25-23, 33-31, 25-21, on October 1, 2024, in Wellesley, Mass.
•    Senior Isabella Allen finished with 18 kills, Lauren Gips '25 added 17 kills and a match-high eight blocks, and junior Zoe Ackerman dished out 50 assists to go along with seven digs, three kills and two blocks for the Beavers, who got 23 digs from senior Sophia Shaw. 
•    Kate Giang finished with 18 kills, 16 digs and three blocks, Ella Mancuso produced 11 kills and Kaija Kunze-Hoeg led all players with 24 digs for Wellesley, which was unable to hold onto a 23-19 lead in the third set and a 19-16 edge in the fourth. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Babson (8-3, 2-0 NEWMAC) extended its winning streak to four with a five-set (25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-13) victory at Smith on Saturday afternoon. 
•    First-year Liberty May registered a season-high 22 kills, Ackerman finished with 45 assists, five digs and four blocks, and sophomore Sabina Frosk led all players with a season-best 19 digs for the Beavers, who hit .200 and overcame a pair of three-point deficits in the decisive fifth set. 
•    Allen is averaging a team-high 2.73 kills per set, May is hitting .273 and contributing 2.50 kills per set, and sophomore Angelina Holm (2.23 k/s, 0.94 blocks/set) ranks 12th in Division III with a .405 hitting percentage. 
•    Ackerman is averaging 8.00 assists and 1.86 digs per set and ranks third in the conference with 30 service aces, while Shaw leads the Green and White in total digs (133) and digs per set (3.50). 

SCOUTING THE BLUE
•    Wellesley (6-5, 1-1 NEWMAC) has won two of its last three matches after rallying for a 3-1 victory over Wheaton on Saturday afternoon. 
•    Kaija Kunze-Hoeg recorded 13 kills, 22 digs and four aces, Sarah Jin provided 10 kills and three blocks, and Else Kunze-Hoeg added 21 assists and 14 digs for the Blue, which hit .212 over the final three sets. 
•    Kaija Kunze-Hoeg leads the team in both kills (2.64) and digs per set (3.45), Evie Hill is averaging 2.52 kills and 2.45 digs per set, and Natalie Dabrowski (1.60 k/s) boasts a .309 hitting percentage. 
•    Else Kunze-Hoeg is averaging 7.14 assists and 2.45 digs per set, while Caroline Meyer has contributed 3.00 digs per set this fall. 

NEWMAC KNOWLEDGE
•    Babson is off to a 2-0 start in league play for the 11th consecutive season going back to 2014 and is looking to start conference play with three straight wins for the fourth year in a row. 
•    The Green and White was picked to finish third in the preseason coaches' poll behind defending regular season champions MIT and reigning NEWMAC Tournament champion Smith, while Wellesley was tabbed to finish sixth.
•    The Beavers have finished no worse than fourth in the conference standings in 11 straight years dating back to 2013, and last season's tie for fourth place snapped a streak of 10 consecutive top-three finishes.  

BIG NUMBERS AGAINST THE BLUE
•    In addition to Allen's 18 kills in last year's win over Wellesley, junior Allison Molendyk finished with 16 kills and a career-high 13 digs in Babson's 2023 five-set victory over the Blue. 
•    Shaw (23) and Frosk (17) combined for 40 digs in last year's four-set win, and Ackerman has is averaging 11.11 assists and 2.22 digs in two career matches versus Wellesley. 

STREAKING BEAVERS
•    Holm, who recorded a career-high 15 kills in last week's win over Wheaton, has at least one block in 17 consecutive matches going back to last season. 
•    Allen has registered at least eight kills in seven consecutive matches. 
•    Shaw, who missed Saturday's victory at Smith, has served up at least one ace in each of her last 10 outings. 
•    First-year Ailsa Munro has recorded at least two total blocks in seven straight matches. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    Babson is 8-0 this season and has won its last 43 matches when hitting .200 or better going back to 2023. 
•    The Beavers are 7-2 on the year when winning the opening set. 
•    The Green and White is 29-3 inside Staake Gymnasium over the last three seasons.
•    Babson ranks 22nd in Division III with a .237 hitting percentage through its first 11 outings. 

UP NEXT
•    The Beavers host Coast Guard on Saturday at 2 p.m.