Babson Volleyball Falls To #3 MIT, 3-1, In NEWMAC Quarterfinals

BOX SCORE

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Babson College women's volleyball team was knocked out of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Tuesday night, as the sixth-seeded Beavers fell to third-seeded MIT, 3-1, in Cambridge. Despite the loss, the Beavers' hopes for the program's first-ever postseason bid remain alive, as they await the announcement of the ECAC Tournament field on Monday, November 10. Babson's record currently stands at 16-11 on the season.

MIT claimed Tuesday night's match by set scores of 25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17. With the score tied at two in the opening set, the Engineers mounted a 10-1 run, capped by a hit from Barden Cleeland that dropped in behind the Beavers' defense. Babson slowly chipped away at the deficit, coming within six (16-10), but MIT registered seven out of the next 10 points to establish a 23-13 advantage. The Beavers notched the next three points before a strike from Jenny Li resulted in set point. Junior Caitlin O'Neill prolonged the frame by sneaking the ball through the Engineers' block, but the Cardinal and Gray would not be denied set point as it converted its next opportunity.

MIT tallied nine unanswered points to start the second stanza and went on to build an 18-6 lead. Babson narrowed the margin to eight on three occasions, the last at 23-15. That was as close as it would get as hits from Katrina Ellison and Cecily Joujon-Roche closed out the set.

In the third set, the Engineers created a 5-2 edge. Miscues coupled with a block by O'Neill put the Beavers ahead, 6-5. After trading points, Babson converted a trio of errors to take a 12-8 lead. MIT battled back and evened the score at 14 on Lindsay Hunting's hit from the back row. Following another tie that featured kills from O'Neill and Allison Hamilos, an error and then a block by first-year Meg Flaherty gave the Beavers the lead for good. The Engineers trailed by one point as late as 19-18, but Babson generated a 5-2 spurt which was capped by first-year Alexa Untermann's ace, resulting in set point. Blocks featuring Cleeland with Ellison and Hamilos and then a kill by Cleeland narrowed the gap to 24-23. A service error ended MIT's run and forced an additional set.

The early stages of the fourth set were closely played as Babson converted a service error to take a 6-5 edge. The Engineers responded with an 11-1 run to regain the lead. The Beavers narrowed the gap to seven (22-15), but they could not generate a late rally to extend the match.

Cleeland collected a team-high six blocks to go along with seven kills for MIT. Li tallied eight kills and four blocks while Kelly Schulte posted eight kills and three blocks. Joujon-Roche amassed six kills, three blocks, and two aces while Ellison added nine digs and eight kills. Hamilos bolstered the Engineers' attack with four kills as Hunting totaled nine digs. Cathy Melnikow finished with 26 assists and eight digs.

O'Neill paced Babson with 11 kills while Flaherty contributed nine of her own. Junior Shanna Glassner recorded a match-high 15 digs and first-year Anna Belz dished out 27 assists.

NOTE: Taken from an MIT press release.