Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Defeat to Babson

BABSON PARK, Mass. -- Senior Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) finished with a match-high 11 kills but Wellesley College volleyball dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-16) final to crosstown rival Babson College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams on Tuesday evening at Staake Gymnasium. 

The Beavers moved to 8-0 (1-0 NEWMAC) on the year, as sophomore Lulu McShane (Glencoe, Ill.) put down a team-high eight kills with no errors on 20 attempts (.400). The Blue drop to 1-4 overall with the setback (0-1 NEWMAC). 

Babson's balanced attack finished the night with 44 kills to just 29 for Wellesley. Right behind McShane was Allie Puccio (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Martina Jankovic Chin (Zapresic, Croatia) each with seven kills for the Beavers. Junior Laura Zuloaga (Naples, Fla.) tacked on six more kills for Babson.

Junior TylerBell Smith (Frisco, Texas) finished the contest with nine kills for Wellesley. Libero Claire Bialek (Brookline, Mass.) continued her solid defensive start to the season, recording a game high 17 digs.

The Blue kept the first set close early on, trailing 8-6 after a block leading to a point from Seebold and Smith. After using a 12-3 run, Babson took control of the set and led 20-9. The Blue rallied back late and trailed 24-20, but it was too little too late as the Beavers took set one 25-20. 

With the second set all notched at 10, Wellesley went on a quick spurt to take a 13-11 lead on a kill from Doerges. The Beavers and Blue continued to trade points, until Babson began to pull away. The Beavers led 20-18 and scored the final five out of eight points to hang on. Babson recorded 17 kills and had a .552 kill percentage in the second set.

Babson kept its foot on the gas with a 2-0 advantage and closed out Wellesley 25-16 in the final set of the match. Seven different players recorded a kill for the Beavers in the third set, closing out the game in a team effort.

After the cancellation of the match versus Endicott, Wellesley will host Springfield on Saturday, September 18 at 1:00 PM in a NEWMAC matchup. Rivier remains home for a match with Coast Guard on Saturday, September 18 at 12:30 PM.