THE BASICS:
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Scores:
No. 1 MIT 3, No. 5 Smith College 1 (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18)
No. 2 Babson College 3, No. 3 Springfield College 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21)
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Records: MIT (23-5); Smith (21-11); Babson (21-7); Springfield (18-9)
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Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Rockwell Cage)
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The Lead: Top-seeded MIT and No. 2 Babson College will meet in the NEWMAC Women's Volleyball Championship for the second time following its semifinal victories on Saturday. The nationally-ranked No. 20 Engineers defeated No. 5 seed Smith College (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18) while the Beavers swept No. 3 Springfield College (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) to set up Sunday's title match.
HOW IT HAPPENED: No. 5 Smith vs. No. 1 MIT
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Set 1: MIT jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but Smith battled back, coming within three points on three occasions, the last at 22-19 on a kill by
Ava Zollinger. A kill by junior
Emily Cheng (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and an ace from sophomore
Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) resulted in set point, however a hitting error by the Engineers extended the frame. MIT went on to win the set courtesy of a hitting error by the Pioneers.
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Set 2: The second set was a back-and-forth affair as there were 10 ties and five lead changes. A kill by junior
Ashley Margetts (Brownsburg, Ind.) sparked a 7-0 run that put the Engineers ahead for good. Smith narrowed the gap to 21-18 on a kill by
Miranda Oakes, however, MIT captured the final four points to win the set.
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Set 3: The Pioneers won the first four points before going up 11-4 on an ace by
Ari Cross. The Engineers battled back, coming within 17-15 on a kill by senior
Lilly Edwards (Kansas City, Mo.). However, Smith countered with its own four-point burst to create some breathing room. Despite the deficit MIT continued to attack, capitalizing on a pair of miscues to once again come within two points (23-21). A kill by Zollinger was followed by a kill from Margetts, but the Pioneers thwarted the late rally courtesy of a kill by
Sarah Dankovich.
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Set 4: Trailing 6-5, a kill by junior
Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) kicked off a string of six unanswered points by the Engineers. Smith came within three points on two occasions, the last at 14-11 on a kill by
Olivia Teske. MIT responded with four straight points before going on to win the set, 25-18.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Rozario led all players with 13 kills, followed by 12 from Edwards. Cheng produced 42 assists, 11 digs, and two aces while first-year
Daphne Gavros (Tiburon, Calif.) paced MIT with 13 digs. Personeni notched 11 digs as senior
Alyssa Unell (Scottsdale, Ariz.) registered four blocks.
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Abby Hunt and Teske both recorded 11 kills for Smith while Hunt added six blocks. Zollinger contributed eight blocks and seven kills as
Sophia Padilla posted 39 assists and 11 digs. Cross tallied a match-high 17 digs and three aces while
Gabby Beckman collected 16 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: No. 3 Springfield vs. No. 2 Babson
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Set 1: Babson quickly established a 5-1 lead which slowly grew to 20-9. The Beavers later capitalized on a hitting error to reach set point at 24-14. However,
Morgan Stafford helped Springfield stay alive as she recorded two kills and a block with
Elsie Phillips. The Beavers quickly answered with a kill by
Lulu McShane to thwart the comeback attempt.
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Set 2: Babson claimed the first six points before amassing a 17-5 advantage on a kill by
Martina Jankovic Chin. The Beavers maintained their comfortable cushion as another kill from Jankovic Chin gave them set point (24-16). A pair of Babson miscues extended the frame, but a Springfield serving error resulted in a victory for the Beavers.
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Set 3: Trailing 8-3, the Pride generated a four-point spurt that was capped by a block from
Aurissa Boardman and
Julia O'Connor. The Beavers slowly pulled away as a kill by
Lauren MacDonald moved the score to 16-8. Despite the deficit Springfield continued to attack as it came within three points on three occasions, with a serving error making the score 23-20. A kill by MacDonald gave Babson match point, however, a serving error kept the Pride alive. The Beavers quickly responded with a Jankovic Chin kill to end the match.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Jankovic Chin paced Babson with 11 kills followed by seven from MacDonald and McShane.
Izzy Seebold totaled 24 assists, seven digs, and four blocks as
Olivia Leinenweber posted a team-high eight digs.
Tatum Stelter chipped in seven digs and a match-high three aces.
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Riley Donahue led all players with 13 kills to go along with 10 digs while
Ally Townsend collected a match-high 11 digs for Springfield. Stafford and
Megan Kirtyan dished out 13 and eight assists, respectively.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will be making the program's 17
th appearance in the NEWMAC Championship and second in row while Babson will be playing in the title match for the fifth time and the first since 2019. First serve is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Rockwell Cage.
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