NEW LONDON, Conn.—First-year
Lia Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.) recorded her first double-double with 10 kills and a season-high 14 digs to help No. 20 Babson College record a three-set 25-22, 26-24, 25-23 victory over the Coast Guard Academy in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Saturday afternoon.
With its second consecutive win, Babson improves to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Coast Guard has dropped two of its last three matches to slip to 9-4 overall and 1-2 in the NEWMAC.
Senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) recorded a team-high 11 kills to go along with three blocks, sophomore
Devon Burke (Newtonville, Mass.) added eight kills and two blocks, and senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) provided 36 assists, eight digs, three service aces and two blocks to lead the Beavers. Junior
Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) also had three aces to go along with four kills and three blocks, while classmate
Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) tied for match-high honors with 14 digs in the win.
Senior Abigail Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) led all players with 12 kills, sophomore Corey Lemmer (San Francisco, Calif.) contributed 11 kills, and classmate Ava Ahokovi (Honolulu, Hawaii) handed out 20 assists to go along with eight digs to pace the Bears. Senior Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.) chipped in with 14 digs in the loss.
The Green and White trailed by as many as five twice in the opening set and were down 18-14 before embarking on a 7-2 run that included two kills by Burke to take a 21-20 lead. Coast Guard answered with back-to-back kills to go back in front but Ackerman tied it with a kill, Holm followed with consecutive kills and then combined with Fouche for a block to close out a 25-22 victory.
Game two featured 18 ties and five lead changes with neither side leading by more than two at any stage. Senior Eloise Shirley (Rock Island, Ill.) and first-year Asia Fulp (Seaside, Calif.) gave the Bears a 24-22 advantage with back-to-back kills before Babson answered with four straight points to end the set. Gonzalez cut the deficit to one with a kill and the visitors went in front 25-24 on a kill by first-year
Maya Foley (Allentown, N.J.) before taking advantage of an error by Coast Guard on set point.
Down by as many as five again early in the third set, the Beavers rallied late to complete the sweep. Trailing 18-15 after a kill by Fouche, the Green and White ran off six consecutive points on the serve of Holm, which included a pair of aces, two blocks and another kill by Fouche to go in front 21-18. Coast Guard pulled within one three times, but Burke responded with kills on the first two occasions and Gonzalez tacked on another kill on match point to secure the victory.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as Babson hosts Emerson while Coast Guard travels to Wellesley.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are now 23-23 all-time against Coast Guard and have won 17 straight and 18 of the last 19 matches between the teams since 2013.
• Babson is now 54-4 over the last three seasons when finishing with more kills than its opponents.
• Fouche has recorded double-digit kills in 14 of her last 16 matches dating back to November of last year.
• Ackerman has dished out 30 or more assists 10 times over the first 13 matches this fall.
