SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Babson College remained undefeated in NEWMAC volleyball play after edging Mount Holyoke 3-1 (25-17, 27-25, 21-25, 25-22) on Saturday in Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
Babson (14-3, 7-0 NEWMAC) won its 10th straight match and its 13th in a row against Mount Holyoke (12-8, 3-4 NEWMAC), which lost for the first time in five matches. It's the second straight meeting between the teams in which the Lyons won a set, following a run of 12 straight Babson sweeps prior to last season.
The Beavers took the first set with little trouble after falling behind 4-1 early on. Hailey Fouche had four kills with no errors, and Isabella Allen had three kills with no errors for Babson.
The second set featured six tie scores and three lead changes, with neither side leading by more than three points throughout the frame. Mount Holyoke scored three straight points to lead 24-21, but Babson tied it at 24-24, with back-to-back kills by Allison Molendyk and Liberty May. Senior Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) had a kill to return set point to the Lyons, but another kill by May tied the score at 25-25, and May clinched the set for Babson with two straight aces, giving the Beavers a 2-0 lead. May had five kills in the set.
Mount Holyoke closed the score to 2-1 by leading wire-to-wire in the third set, including seven-point advantages at 19-12 and 21-14. Babson closed with two points at 23-21 and 24-22, but a service error by May clinched the set for the Lyons. Rimando and senior Madeline Barton (Brookfield, Wis.) had six kills apiece in the set for Mount Holyoke.
Babson grinded out the win by outlasting Mount Holyoke in a fourth set that featured 15 tie scores and six lead changes, despite a large advantage for the Beavers in attack percentage for the set (.258 to -.031). Babson led 22-21 and pulled away with a final 3-1 run, featuring two kills by Fouche and one by Devon Burke.
May led Babson with 10 kills, with Ailsa Munro adding eight kills on 13 swings (.615) and Fouche also adding eight kills. Zoe Ackerman had a team-high 26 assists, and Sophia Shaw had a match-high 16 digs.
Rimando, this week's NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week, totaled a match-high 16 kills on 45 attempts (.156) with nine digs, Barton had 15 kills on 46 attempts (.043), and sophomore Olivia Murray (Miami, Fla.) added eight kills. Junior Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) had 14 digs, and senior Sadie Duffrin (Minneapolis, Minn.) had a match-high 35 assists with eight digs.
Mount Holyoke will host Springfield College on Tuesday at 7pm.
