Babson Upends Wellesley Volleyball

BABSON PARK, Mass. -- Junior Mary Donahue and sophomore Jenny Karnes combined for 25 kills while hitting .500 percent to help Babson College defeat visiting Wellesley College, 3-0, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action on Thursday night at Staake Gymnasium. 

Babson, which had not beaten Wellesley since 1994, snapped a 24-match losing streak with the victory. The Beavers are now 12-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2009 and just the third time in program history. The Blue, which has dropped three straight matches, is now 7-5 overall and 1-2 in the NEWMAC.

Donahue finished with a match-high 14 kills while Karnes matched her career high with 11 kills in 16 attack attempts to go along with four blocks. Junior Krissy Robertson had 18 assists and eight digs, classmate Angela Price contributed 17 assists, and senior Kseniya Pulido tied for match-high honors with 16 digs for the Green and White, which held Wellesley to just a .052 hitting percentage on the night.

Senior Sydney Carfagno had 13 kills and eight digs, while sophomore Taylor Jais had 16 digs for the Blue. Classmate Maddie Koh led all players with 19 assists.

Behind 10 kills from Donahue and Karnes in 12 attempts, Babson hit .355 as a team and never trailed in the opening set. Kills from Karnes and sophomore Alana Atchison, sandwiched around a Wellesley error, gave the Beavers a quick 10-4 lead. The Blue closed within four points on five occasions, but the Green and White got kills from Robertson, Mackiewicz, and junior Alicia Wilde to score four of the game's final five points for a one set lead. 

Babson took control of the second set with an early 9-2 run, scoring four points apiece on the serves of Pulido and Price. Wellesley battled back to get within three points at 17-14, but the Beavers responded with kills from Robertson and Wilde to regain a five-point edge. The Blue closed the margin to 22-19 late in the frame, but an attack error, followed by kills from Donahue and Mackiewicz helped close out the game for a 2-0 lead.

The teams split the first 20 points of the third set before back-to-back kills from Mackiewicz put the Green and White in front to stay at 12-10. Carfagno's final kill of the night cut the margin to 14-12, but consecutive blocks by Karnes and Robertson, followed by a Karnes' kill and another block by the duo capped a five point run and pushed the lead back to 19-12.

The Blue made one final run, taking advantage of two straight Babson errors and a pair of service aces from Carfagno to get within 20-18, but the Green and White once again responded, this time a kill from sophomore Brittany Goldschmidt to regain the momentum. Leading 23-19, Donahue capped the victory with a pair of emphatic kills.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson travels to Clark to take on the host Cougars at 11 a.m. and regionally-ranked Amherst at 3 p.m. Wellesley will be in Worcester to face WPI at 11 a.m. followed by a non-league clash with Westfield State at 1 p.m.