WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball junior Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) recorded an impressive 10 kill, 20 assist, 11 dig triple-double in the team's 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17) NEWMAC setback to No. 20 Babson College on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.
The Beavers (10-2 Overall, 2-1 NEWMAC) recorded 43 kills as a unit with a .287 hitting percentage. Senior Hailey Fouche (Montclair, N.J.) had a team-high 11 kills and combined with junior Angelina Holm (Denver, Colo.) for 12 total blocks. Senior Zoe Ackerman (Aurora, Colo.) contributed 33 assists while junior Sabrina Frosk (Coppell, Texas) led all players with 21 digs.
In addition to Kunze-Hoeg's strong night, which also included a 500th career dig, the Blue (7-4 Overall, 1-2 NEWMAC) saw 11 kills and eight assists from first-year Delia Noel (Telluride, Colo.).
Babson controlled large portions of a 25-15 first set with a .350 hitting percentage. The Beavers used a 9-1 run to make it 17-8 and didn't let the foot off of the gas pedal in the latter stages of the frame.
The second set was the most intriguing. After trailing 12-6, Wellesley mounted a 4-0 run with two kills from Kunze-Hoeg and an ace from junior Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.). After several short bursts from both squads, the Blue tied the set at 19s with a Jin kill, before adding on two more unanswered points. Babson didn't go away, utilizing a 3-0 swing to knot the set at 23-23. A kill from Kunze-Hoeg and a Babson error evened up the match for Coach Dorothy Webb's team.
The green and white rebounded quickly by racing out a 7-1 edge in the third. Wellesley never came within three points again in the set. The visitors unleashed 10 kills and an efficient .292 hitting percentage. Holm and Fouche patrolled the net with multiple blocks each.
The final set was close early at 9-7 Babson. The ranked Beavers tallied seven straight points to quell any Blue hopes of an upset. While Wellesley saved a pair of match points at 24-15, an attack error concluded the match with Babson earning the road win.
Wellesley will travel to Salve Regina University for a NEWMAC contest at 1:00 PM on Saturday, October 3. Babson is at Coast Guard Academy for a noon contest that same day.
