South Hadley, Mass. - September 25, 2021 - Senior outside hitter Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) picked up a career-best 13 kills as the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team defeated Bay Path University, 3-0, in the second of two games for the Lyons on Saturday in Howard Gymnasium. With eight kills in the first match, Bishop delivered a total of 21 kills on the day.

The Lyons dropped a 3-0 decision to nationally-ranked Babson in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play to start the day. With the split, the Lyons are now 3-8 overall. 

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No. 20 Babson 3, Mount Holyoke 0 - Game One

Despite a team-best eight kills from Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.), the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team fell to visiting Babson College, 3-0, as the nationally-ranked Beavers improved to 10-1 on the year with the victory, including a 3-1 mark in the NEWMAC. 

Along with Bishop's eight kills, Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) produced seven hitting at a .274 clip, while senior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out 19 assists in the setback. Leading the Beavers was Martina Jankovic Chin and Allie Puccio, who both produced seven kills in the win.

Babson kicked off the first set with a 4-0 lead before Mount Holyoke College pulled back to within a pair following an attack error from Puccio. A kill from Abeja in the middle of the frame made it 11-9, Babson, before the visitors opened a 15-10 lead on a kill from Jordan Lapins. From there, Willet Parkins (Norwich, Vt.) and Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) picked up kills, but a three-point spurt gave the Beavers a 10-point, 23-13 advantage. Despite a late kill from Abeja, a service error from the Lyons ended the first set at 25-16.

Babson jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the second set before a kill from Bishop gave service back to Mount Holyoke. After a kill from Abeja that made it 8-4, Babson, the visitors enjoyed a 7-0 run to push their lead to nine, taking a 17-8 advantage following a kill from Julia Palomba and a bad set from the Lyons. Kills from Palomba, Chin and a service ace from Samantha Hardan made it 20-10, Beavers, before a pair of kills from Bishop pulled the Lyons back to within nine. From there, Babson closed out the second frame on a pair of kills from Erin Gray to seal the 25-15 victory.

Mount Holyoke College gained some early momentum in the third set, taking a 4-1 lead behind the strong serving of McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.), but the visitors quickly pulled even on a service ace from Jacalyn Pell before opening a 14-11 lead on back-to-back kills from Tatum Stelter and Lauren Griffin. Mount Holyoke College pulled back to within one after a 4-0 run, capped by a kill from Abeja, before Babson answered with a 4-0 run of their own, finished by a kill from Ruby Reich to make it 23-17. The Lyons showed some grit towards the end of the frame and used an ace from Abeja to pull within two, but a kill from Jankovic Chin sealed the 25-22 set victory and three-set win over Mount Holyoke. 

No. 20 Babson 3, Bay Path University 0 -- Game Two

Behind a match-best eight kills from Laura Zuloaga, the Babson College women's volleyball team earned their second win of the day as the Beavers outlasted Bay Path University, 3-0, and improved to 11-1 on the year. Along with Zuolaga's eight kills, Erin Gray added seven of her own while Ruby Reich handed out 34 assists and directed Babson's offense to a .403 hitting percentage.

Leading Bay Path was Lydia Clifford with three kills while Joanna Bampi posted a team-best five digs.

Babson jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set behind the strong serving of Samantha Hardan before Olivia Leinenweber picked up back-to-back service aces to make it 8-3, Beavers. Reich would produce a kill to spark another 4-0 run which was capped by a pair of aces from Tatum Stelter to make it 18-8, before Hardan sent Babson on a 6-0 run to close out the first set, 25-9.

The Beavers opened up an 8-1 lead in the second set after consecutive kills from Julia Polomba, before two kills from Zuloaga made it 12-2, Babson. From there, the green and white opened a 17-8 lead following a kill from Martina Jankovic Chin before using a four-point run late in the set to make it 22-11. Closing out the set, Babson got kills from Lisa Sikop and Erin Gray to take a 2-0 match lead.

After trading the first few points of the third and final set, Babson opened an 11-6 lead on a kill from Maggie Murray, before Murray's strong serving provided the Beavers seven-straight points to make it 20-8. From there, Ashley Gold picked up an ace to spark a four-point run and force match point, wehre Lauren Griffin picked up her third kill of the match to seal the three-set victory. 

Mount Holyoke 3, Bay Path University 0 -- Game Three

Mount Holyoke College finished the day off strong as senior outside hitter Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) produced a career-best 13 kills and senior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out 23 assists as the Lyons defeated Bay Path University, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in Howard Gymnasium.

First-year Lucie Berclaz (Kyogo, Japan) produced a team-high 12 digs while Bishop chipped in nine of her own. Senior libero Chelsea Galicia (Altadena, Calif.) posted seven digs and a match-best six service aces, all of which came in the third set, to led the Lyons to victory.

For Bay Path, Lydia Clifford notched nine kills while Joanna Bampi had a match-high 14 digs in the setback.

After Bishop picked up an early kill in the first set, the strong serving of McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) opened a 12-4 lead for the Lyons as the junior picked up four aces in the 9-0 run. Back-to-back kills from Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) and Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) midway through the frame made it 19-9, Mount Holyoke, before Bishop delivered back-to-back kills to make it 22-12. From there, Bishop and Iyana Alleyne (Clermont, Barbados) had consecutive kills to close out the first set, 25-13.

Another early run proved beneficial for the Lyons as a kill from Crosby sparked six-consecutive points from the Lyons, capped by a kill from Bishop. Crosby and Mar Simon (Miami, Fla.) delivered back-to-back kills midway through the set to make it 12-6, before Mount Holyoke enjoyed another 7-0 run to take a 20-9 lead following an ace from Walden. Bay Path ripped off three-consecutive points late, but kills from Abeja and Crosby sealed the frame, 25-13, giving the Lyons a 2-0 match lead.

Mount Holyoke jumped out to an early 12-3 lead in the third frame as Galicia picked up four aces and Davis provided two kills during the run before a kill from Bishop and an ace from Berclaz made it 19-9, Lyons. From there, Galicia added a fifth service ace in the set and Davis and Bishop went back-to-back to set up match point, 24-11. Galicia then stepped up an delivered her sixth ace of the set to clinch the victory for the Lyons.