WORCESTER, Mass.—First-years
Julia Garcia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and
Lia Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) combined for seven kills in the decisive fifth set, and senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) moved into second place on the program's career assist chart as No. 24 Babson College rallied to defeat WPI, 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 15-10, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Wednesday night inside Harrington Auditorium.
With its second consecutive victory, Babson improves to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. WPI has dropped its last two contests to slip to 9-10 overall and 2-4 in the NEWMAC.
Senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) hit .371 and led all players with 16 kills, Garcia matched her season high with 13 kills while hitting .345 and sophomore
Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) provided 10 kills and a team-high four blocks to pace the Beavers. Ackerman finished with 50 assists and five aces, and first-year
Sara Arango (Miami, Fla.) led all players with a season-high 31 digs in the win.
Sophomore Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, Fla.) recorded 12 kills and 18 digs, classmate Olivia Hutchinson (Erie, Pa.) also had 12 kills and senior Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, Calif.) contributed 11 kills and four blocks to lead the Engineers. Sophomores Amelia Lynch (Charlottesville, Va.) and Lauren Boycourt (San Diego, Calif.) combined for 40 assists, junior Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, N.J.) led all players with five blocks and first-year Jennah DiMartino (Mission Viejo, Calif.) finished with a match-high 19 digs in the loss.
The opening stanza featured 14 ties and three lead changes with neither team leading by more than two at any point. WPI got a kill and a block from Hutchinson during a four-point run to go up 20-18, and consecutive kills from VanDamme and first-year Niki Szavuly (Woodinville, Wash.) to regain a 23-21 advantage. The Green and White tied it up on kills by Fouche and sophomore
Devon Burke (Newtonville, Mass.) before the hosts responded with the final two points, which included a kill by Kelnik to win the first set.
The Beavers were down as many as five early in game two before rallying to take their first lead since the opening point on a service ace by senior
Nora Whitehurst (Atlanta, Ga.) at 18-17. Babson, which took advantage of 11 errors by WPI in the frame, went in front for good at 19-18 on a kill by Fouche and then ran off five straight points on the serve of sophomore
Misaki Harte (San Jose, Calif.) to even the match.
WPI hit .370 in the third set and led by as many as four early before rallying from a 20-18 deficit. Kills by Szavuly and VanDamme put the Engineers in front 22-21, Kelnik and VanDamme combined for a block to regain a 23-22 edge and Spees provided a kill on set point.
The Green and White responded by going up 8-2 in the fourth and getting a kill and an ace from Gonzalez and two kills from Garcia during a 6-1 run that extended the lead to 17-7. The lead ballooned to as many as 11 on the way to forcing a decisive fifth set.
The final stanza featured five ties and two early lead changes before the Beavers got two kills from Garcia, another from Gonzalez and a block by first-year
Maya Foley (Allentown, N.J.) to build a 10-6 advantage. The Engineers pulled within two at 11-9 on a kill by VanDamme, but Ackerman and Garcia answered with kills and Munro and Fouche combined for a block at match point.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. as Babson hosts Mount Holyoke, while WPI entertains Emerson.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 36-11 all-time against WPI and have won 10 in a row in the series, including two straight five-set decisions inside Harrington Auditorium.
• Ackerman, who has recorded 50 assists in two of her last three matches, now has 3,654 for her career and passed Kathleen Lynch '13 for second place on the program's all-time list during Wednesday's victory.
• The Green and White is now 2-1 this season and 7-6 going back to the start of last year in five-set matches.
• The Beavers have won nine of their last 10 NEWMAC matches away from home, which includes eight straight regular season triumphs.
