BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Allison Molendyk (Danville, Calif.) recorded a season-high 15 kills and first-year Liberty May (Grapevine, Texas) led all players with six service aces to help Babson College defeat visiting Wellesley College in four sets, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its fifth consecutive victory, Babson improves to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Wellesley has dropped two of its last three matches to slip to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the NEWMAC. 

Molendyk hit .344, senior Isabella Allen (Williamsville, N.Y.) put away 10 kills and May added nine kills to pace the Beavers. Sophomore Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) contributed eight kills and a match-high four blocks, junior Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out 43 assists to go along with 10 digs, and sophomore Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) tied for match-high honors with 17 digs. 

Senior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) finished with 14 kills and 17 digs, while junior Evie Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) added nine kills, 15 digs and three service aces to pace the Blue. Sophomore Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) also contributed 33 assists, four aces and three blocks in the loss. 

The Green and White seized command of the opening set with a 7-1 run that included two kills by Holm and three straight aces by May to take its largest lead of the stanza at 21-15. The visitors responded with five of the next seven points to get as close as three, but junior Nora Whitehurst (Atlanta, Ga.) and May answered with kills to close out the frame. 

Game two featured 12 ties and nine lead changes with neither team leading by more than three. The Beavers used a kill and an ace by May, a block by Holm and a kill by Ackerman to go in front 20-17 only to see Wellesley score five straight points and regain a 22-20 advantage on back-to-back kills by Hill. Babson answered with the next three points, but the Blue got a kill from first-year Natalie Dabrowski (Chicago, Ill.) and took advantage of an error by the hosts before Hill served up an ace on set point to pull even. 

The Green and White raced out to a 12-3 lead in the third before fending off a late Wellesley rally. The visitors got as close as 18-17 on a ball-handling error before Holm and Molendyk combined for five consecutive kills extending the margin to 23-17. Game four featured 12 ties and four lead changes with the Blue erasing a four-point deficit to take a 19-18 edge on consecutive kills by Kaija Kunze-Hoeg. 

The Beavers trailed 21-20 after another Kunze-Hoeg kill but responded with five unanswered points to end the night. Junior Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) and first-year Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) combined on a block, Molendyk put away backto-back kills, and Fouche followed with a kill of her own to make it 24-21. 

Both teams return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. as Babson hosts Coast Guard while Wellesley takes on Salve Regina. 

MATCH NOTES
•    The Beavers are 13-34 all-time against Wellesley but have won seven in a row and 11 of the last 12 matches between the teams since 2014. 
•    Babson, which hit .230 in Tuesday's win, have now won 44 straight matches when finishing with a hitting percentage of at least .200. 
•    Allen has now recorded at least eight kills in eight straight outings. 
•    The Green and White is 30-3 inside Staake Gymnasium over the last three seasons.