BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year
Lia Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) led a balanced attack with eight kills and 23rd-ranked Babson College finished with a .371 hitting percentage on the way to sweeping visiting Salve Regina University, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium.
Babson, which is currently 18th in the NPI rankings, has won seven of its last eight matches to improve to 19-5 overall and 8-1 in conference play. Salve Regina has dropped four of its last six matches to slip to 8-15 overall and 2-7 in the NEWMAC.
Junior
Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) recorded seven kills and three blocks, senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) provided six kills and three blocks, and sophomore
Devon Burke (Newtonville, Mass.) added six kills to lead the Beavers. Fellow sophomore
Liberty May (Grapevine, Texas), who led all players with three service aces, and classmate
Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) both produced four kills in five swings, senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) handed out 30 assists to go along with five kills, and junior
Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) tied for match-high honors with eight digs.
Juniors Anouk Jansen (Queen Creek, Ariz.) and Lauren Shurling (Hudson, Mass.) both finished with five kills, classmate Jenna DeFrancesco (Branford, Conn.) led all players with four blocks, senior Kate Andy (Norton, Mass.) handed out 10 assists and classmate Madelyn Homer (North Easton, Mass.) chipped in with eight digs to pace the Seahawks, who hit just .068 in the loss.
The Green and White never trailed in the first two sets, leading by as many as eight in game one before using a late run for a 10-point victory in the second. Holm and Munro combined for 10 kills on 13 attempts for a .769 hitting percentage in the opening stanza, while seven different players recorded a kill in the second set including four apiece from Ackerman and May.
Salve Regina jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third and were still in front 13-11 before the Beavers seized control with a five-point run that included kills from Ackerman, Gonzalez and senior
Nora Whitehurst (Atlanta, Ga.), as well as an ace from May to forge a 16-13 edge. The Seahawks got back within one but Burke provided three kills and Babson took advantage of five errors by the visitors during an 8-3 spurt to close out the match.
Both teams return to action on Friday as Babson hosts Endicott at 7 p.m., while Salve Regina travels to Bridgewater State for a 6 p.m. match.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 8-3 all-time against Salve Regina and have won seven consecutive matches in the series.
• Ackerman became just the second setter in program history to surpass 3,800 career assists in Tuesday's win and has now doled out 30 or more assists in 15 straight matches.
• The Green and White is 18-1 this fall when it hits .200 or better and remains perfect at 13-0 when its opponents finish with a hitting percentage of .150 or below.
• The Beavers are now 9-1 at home on the year and have won 17 of their last 19 contests inside Staake Gymnasium since the start of the 2025 campaign.
