BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomores
Devon Burke (Newtonville, Mass.) and
Ailsa Munro (Sylmar, Calif.) combined for 23 kills to help 18th-ranked Babson College defeat visiting Emerson College in three sets (25-14, 26-24, 25-23) in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium.
With its third straight win, Babson improves to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play. Emerson had its eight-match winning streak snapped and is now 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the NEWMAC.
Munro (12) and Burke (11) both matched their career highs for kills, sophomore
Liberty May (Grapevine, Texas) provided seven kills, three service aces and three blocks, and senior
Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) added six kills and four blocks for the Beavers, who hit .244 on the night. Junior
Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) chipped in with four kills and four blocks, senior
Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) dished out 37 assists, and junior
Sabina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) matched her season high with 21 digs in the win.
Senior Rachel Dickerson (Frisco, Texas) registered a team-high nine kills, sophomore Lizi Horning (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) finished with seven kills and junior Chloe Hokenson (McLean, Va.) contributed 15 assists, nine digs and six kills to lead the Lions. Sophomore Catherine McDonough (Los Angeles, Calif.) led all players with five total blocks in the loss.
Down three early in the opening set, the Green and White went on a 7-1 run that saw May and Munro combine for a block before producing consecutive kills to build a 9-6 lead. Emerson used a kill by Dickerson and a service error by the hosts to get as close as two at 14-12 before Munro and Burke combined for six kills during an 8-0 spurt that put the set away.
Babson built a 14-8 advantage in the second set before the Lions came roaring back with a 10-1 burst that included two kills apiece by sophomore Shirley Yu (Beijing, China) and first-year Addie Wooten (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) for an 18-15 lead. The Green and White pulled even twice, but Emerson went back in front on a service error and got a pair of kills from Hokenson to get within a point of squaring the match at 24-22.
Babson cut its deficit to one on a service error and tied it at 24-all on a block by Fouche and first-year
Maya Foley (Allentown, N.J.) before a service ace by May and a kill by Ackerman helped it steal the set.
Down by as many as five early in the third set, the visitors rallied to take a 19-17 advantage thanks to consecutive kills by Wooten, Hokenson and Dickerson. Foley contributed a kill and an ace in the span of five points to put Babson in front 22-20, and May combined on a block with Holm before providing a kill to make it 24-20.
The Lions got within one on back-to-back kills by Horning before Fouche put away her final kill of the night on match point No. 4 for the Green and White.
Both teams return to action on Friday as Babson travels to Southern California to face La Verne at 9 p.m. ET, while Emerson hosts Emmanuel at 5 p.m.
MATCH NOTES
• The Beavers are 15-3 all-time against Emerson and have won seven in a row in the series dating back to the 2019 NEWMAC Tournament final.
• Babson held the Lions to a .113 hitting percentage and is now 9-0 this season and 55-1 over the last four years when its foes hit .150 or below.
• Ackerman has handed out at least 30 assists in five consecutive matches and became just the third player in program history to surpass 3,400 career assists in Tuesday's win.
• The Green and White has won its last 10 matches going back to November of last year when registering more blocks than its opponents.
