BABSON PARK, Mass. — Junior Mary Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) hit .611 percent and had a match-high 11 kills, lifting Babson College to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-7) victory over visiting Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night at Staake Gymnasium.
With its fourth straight win, Babson is now 9-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Mount Holyoke drops to 2-8 on the year and 0-1 in the NEWMAC.
Sophomore Lorraine Mackiewicz (Edison, N.J.) and junior Alicia Wilde (Franklin, Mass.) recorded eight and seven kills, respectively, while juniors Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass.) and Angela Price (Medway, Mass.) combined for 37 assists. Senior Kseniya Pulido (Upland, Calif.) led all players with 14 digs, and junior Elizabeth Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with a season-high 11 digs for the Beavers.
Junior Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.) had a team-high six kills and 10 digs to lead the Lyons. Sophomore Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va.) contributed 10 digs and four assists, and senior Stephany Yang (Glen Allen, Va.) led the team with nine assists and was one of four players to record a service ace.
The Green and White, which hit .347 percent as a team produced 19 of its 46 kills to win the first set, 25-16. Leading 5-4, Donahue and Robertson smashed back-to-back kills, followed by three more from Wilde as part of a 6-0 run that would push the advantage to 11-4. Mount Holyoke got back within 13-10 on a service ace by first-year Katrina Meserve (Falmouth, Maine), but the Beavers answered by scoring 10 of the next 15 points, led by two kills each from Donahue and sophomore Jenny Karnes (Houston, Texas), to pull away.
The second set featured six ties and two lead changes before Babson went on an 11-4 run, getting three kills from Mackiewicz, and taking advantage of four Lyons' errors, to move in front 24-15. Mount Holyoke didn't go quietly though, using kills from Meserve and Yang, and scoring six consecutive points on the serve of Lyon to get within two before the Green and White secured a 25-22 win with a kill by sophomore Brittany Goldschmidt (Delray Beach, Fla.) for a two-set lead.
The Beavers wasted little time taking command in the final frame, scoring 15 straight points to build an 18-2 lead. Donahue and junior Mary Martin (East Haddam, Conn.) each had three kills during the run as the Green and White smashed 12 kills and hit .647 as a team to close out the match with a 25-7 victory.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Smith at 1 p.m., while Mount Holyoke will travel to Emerson for a 12 p.m. start.
Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
