LA VERNE, Calif.—Junior Mariah Ray (Pomona, Calif.) finished with 17 kills and five blocks to go along with a .517 hitting percentage as the University of La Verne defeated No. 18 Babson College in four sets, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, in non-conference women's volleyball action on Friday night inside the Sports Science Athletic Pavilion.
Babson, which had its three-match winning streak snapped, slips to 12-3 on the year. La Verne, the defending NCAA Division III Tournament runner-up, has won four of its last five matches to improve to 7-6 overall.
First-year
Lia Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) registered a season-high 17 kills, while senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) and sophomore
Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) each contributed 13 kills to pace the Beavers. Senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out a season-high 47 assists to go along with three service aces, junior
Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) matched her season high with 21 digs and first-year
Sara Arango (Miami, Fla.) chipped in with a career-high 19 digs in the loss.
Senior Alanna Jones (Redondo Beach, Calif.) recorded nine kills and three blocks, classmate Lauren Gott (Wrightwood, Calif.) provided eight kills and 16 digs, and fellow senior Emma Yogan (Snohomish, Wash.) added eight kills and 12 digs to lead the Leopards. First-year Jordyn McCoy (Chicago, Ill.) handed out 29 assists to go along with nine digs, while senior Malia Capistrano (Eastvale, Calif.) dished out 16 assists and added nine digs in the victory.
The Green and White hit .258 in the first set and ran off six consecutive points on the serve of Ackerman, which included a pair of service aces, to build a 13-8 lead. La Verne cut its deficit to three before the visitors responded with a kill by Fouche and consecutive aces by junior
Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) to extend the margin back to 20-14, and Holm and Fouche added late kills to secure a 1-0 edge in the match.
Babson trailed for much of the second set before using a six-point run that included three kills by Munro to go in front, 19-17. A kill by Gonzalez and an ace by Frosk pushed the lead to 21-18 before the Leopards used a late 7-2 run to even the match. Ray provided a block and a kill to tie the game at 21-all, back-to-back kills by Yogan and Ray gave the hosts a 23-21 advantage, and Gott answered a kill by Fouche with one of her own to take the lead for good at 24-23.
The Beavers never led in the third set but cut an early five-point deficit to just three at 18-15 before La Verne responded with three straight kills and a block by Jones and senior Abigail Montana (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) to take its largest lead of the stanza at 22-15. The Green and White scored the first five points of the fourth set on the serve of Ackerman and led for much of the frame before succumbing to a late spurt by the Leopards.
The hosts took their first lead at 18-17 on a kill by Jones and answered consecutive kills by Munro and Gonzalez with six consecutive points, that included two kills by Yogan and a service ace by McCoy, to forge a 24-19 edge. Babson cut its deficit to 24-22 thanks to kills by Gonzalez and Fouche before Ray ended the match with her 17th and final kill of the night.
The Beavers hit .190 and finished with more kills (56-52) and aces (9-2), while the Leopards recorded a .211 hitting percentage and had nine total blocks, as well as a slim 69-65 edge in digs.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson faces Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 2 p.m. ET and Pomona-Pitzer at 6 p.m. ET, while La Verne travels to California Lutheran at 7 p.m. ET.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 0-2 all-time against La Verne and Friday's match was the first between the teams since 2017.
• Prior to Friday's loss, Babson had been 12-0 when winning the first set and recording more kills and service aces than its opponents.
• Gonzalez's 17 kills are the most by a Babson player this fall, and Ackerman's 47 assists are her most since recording the same number in a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal victory over Mount Holyoke last November.
• The Beavers are now 2-2 this fall in four-set matches.
