Box Score WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley College volleyball team topped Babson, 3-0, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Thursday evening. The win improves the Blue to 14-2 overall with a 3-0 mark in NEWMAC play, while Babson dips to 9-7 overall, 2-2 in the NEWMAC.
Set one was a marathon affair, featuring 15 ties and eight lead changes, with both teams hitting over .300. Babson was able to grab an early 8-6 edge on a kill from Krissy Robertson, but Wellesley battled back to tie at 11-11 on a Babson error. After more tight play, the visitors surged late, as a Wellesley attack error put Babson on the line with a 23-20 lead. Two straight Brooke Fieldman kills rallied the Blue, as Wellesley tied the match and then built a 27-26 lead. A kill from Babson's Angela Price tied the set at 27-27 but a Beavers attack error and a Fieldman kill gave Wellesley the 29-27 win.
Set two featured more strong hitting from Wellesley as the Blue hit .320, while holding Babson to a .000 clip, which made the difference. The Beavers started the match with three straight points, including two aces from Robertson, but Wellesley battled back to make it 6-5 on a Babson error. After trading sideouts until the match was tied 11-11, Wellesley took over, closing out the set on a 16-4 run. Kills from Courtney Lang and Kellyn O'Brady helped the Blue down the stretch, and two aces each from Maddie Koh and Sydney Carfagno sealed the 25-15 victory.
Set three was another back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than three points until the final Wellesley surge. After being tied at 15-15 midway through the set, Wellesley was able to carve out an 19-17 advantage on a Megan Mills kill. Babson came back to tie the match at 21-21 on two straight aces from Elizabeth Sullivan, but Wellesley used a Lang kill, a Traci Hamanaka ace, a big block from Lang and Caitlin Laughlin to earn the 25-21 set victory.
For Babson, Mary Donahue led all hitters with 13 kills on 28 attempts. Lorraine Mackiewicz added nine kills, and Krissy Robertson and Alicia Wilde chipped in six a piece. Libero Brianna San Diego tallied 12 digs and an ace for the Beavers, while Robertson and Angela Price shared setting duties, recording 19 and 12 assists, respectively.
The Blue were led by Carfagno with 11 kills, 10 digs, and two service aces for her sixth double-double of the season. Fieldman racked up 10 kills on the right, while Laughlin chipped in eight from the middle.
Hilary Ayers tallied a match-high 22 assists, and Koh added ten to go along with four aces. Hamanaka led all players with 15 digs and two aces in the win.
Tonight's match served as an Ovarian Cancer Awareness event. The Blue partnered with Ovations for the Cure to raise money and awareness for the disease. Wellesley warmed up in teal t-shirts and both teams wore teal shoelaces and teal ribbons. Donations can be made online until the end of next week, at the
Ovations Wellesley volleyball website.
Babson returns to action at 11am on Saturday, September 28, when they host Clark in NEWMAC competition. Wellesley will take the court on Saturday at noon, as they host WPI as part of Friends and Family weekend.
Fans don teal Wellesley t-shirts at the game (Alex Berman photo)
