BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore
Liberty May (Grapevine, Texas) led a balanced attack with eight kills and senior
Nora Whitehurst (Atlanta, Ga.) provided season highs of six kills and three blocks as 24th-ranked Babson College swept visiting Mount Holyoke, 25-19, 25-13, 25-11, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Saturday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.
With its third straight win, Babson improves to 15-4 overall and 6-1 in conference play. Mount Holyoke dips to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in the NEWMAC with the loss.
Senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) registered six kills and a match-high five blocks, first-year
Lia Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) added six kills and six digs, and senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) finished with 31 assists, eight digs, six service aces and three blocks to lead the Beavers. First-year
Sara Arango (Miami, Fla.) also had eight digs, while sophomore
Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) contributed four kills and four blocks in her only set.
First-year Layla Abdullah (Phoenix, Ariz.) recorded six kills, classmate Melina Cudiamat (Aiea, Hawaii) handed out 12 assists, and senior Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) led all players with 13 digs for the Lyons.
The Green and White scored five consecutive points on the serve of Whitehurst early in the first set to go in front 7-3, and she provided three kills while Ackerman served up a pair of aces during a six-point run that gave the hosts a 17-9 edge. Mount Holyoke responded with the next five points to get as close as three before Fouche answered with consecutive kills and combined on a block with Munro to regain a 21-15 lead.
The Beavers never trailed in the second set, scoring three quick points on the serve of Ackerman before going on an 8-0 run that included three kills from May and a service ace from Whitehurst that made it 12-2. The Lyons were unable to get any closer than eight as Babson got kills from Fouche and May as well as an ace from junior
Harmony Powers (Makawao, Hawaii) during a five-point run that extended its largest lead of the stanza to 24-11.
The Green and White completed the sweep with a dominant third set that saw it hit .619 with 15 kills against just two errors in 21 swings. May had three early kills to build an 8-4 lead and Ackerman recorded three consecutive aces during a five-point run that helped the hosts stretch their cushion to 13-5. Mount Holyoke stopped the run momentarily with a kill by first-year Eliza Vest (Rumford, R.I.), but Babson scored six of the next seven points to build a double-digit advantage it would not relinquish.
The Beavers hit .386 as a team in the match while holding the Lyons to their lowest hitting percentage of the year (-.049).
Both teams return to action on Tuesday as Babson travels to No. 3 MIT at 6 p.m., while Mount Holyoke visits Springfield at 7 p.m.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 25-16 all-time against Mount Holyoke and have won 16 consecutive matches in the series.
• Fouche became just the 12th player in program history to surpass 700 career kills in Saturday's win.
• Babson has finished with a hitting percentage of at least .200 in seven of its last eight matches.
• Eleven of the Beavers' 15 wins this fall have come in three sets after Saturday's sweep.
• Prior to the match, Babson honored seniors Ackerman, Fouche, Whitehurst,
Allison Molendyk (Danville, Calif.) and
Natalie Molendyk (Danville, Calif.). The group has helped the prograrm to a record of 86-26 over the past four seasons while reaching the NCAA Tournament twice.
