CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 7 MIT women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (29-27, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23) final to No. 25 Babson College in a NEWMAC matchup of two of the top 25 teams in the nation on Tuesday evening at Rockwell Cage.
Sabine Smith tied for match-high honors with 18 kills, while
Kayleigh May tallied 44 assists and
Sophia Song had 15 digs for the Engineers.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 25 Babson 3, No. 7 MIT 1 (29-27, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23)
- Records: No. 7 MIT (15-3 Overall, 5-2 NEWMAC); No. 25 Babson (16-4 Overall, 7-1 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1: Babson scored the final two points of a back-and-forth opening set that featured 13 tie scores and five lead changes as the teams pushed past the 25-point plateau. An MIT kill from Julia Tolstova put the hosts ahead near the end of the set, 25-24, but Babson countered to the tie score and eventually pushed to take a 27-26 lead. Smith pulled MIT back even with a kill at 27-27, but Babson got a kill from Hailey Fouche before an ace from Lia Gonzalez to clinch the set.
- Set 2: MIT took an early 4-2 lead in the second frame, but the early lead was the only one that MIT enjoyed in the second set. Trailing 4-2, Babson scored five straight points to take a 7-4 lead. Babson eventually extended its advantage to 17-8 before MIT made a push. Back-to-back kills from Miller Grimes made the score 17-10, and MIT would work the deficit back down to three points, 23-20, but never threatened late as Babson moved up two sets in the match with a 25-20 win.
- Set 3: MIT extended the match to a fourth game with a 26-24 victory in the third set. Babson took a 5-1 lead at the start, but this time MIT didn't let the Beavers escape. The teams played to 10 tie scores and three lead changes, including a tie score at 23-23 following a kill from Eileen Sadati. An ace from Cate Haley gave MIT a 24-23 advantage before Babson tied the score on a Liberty May kill. With the set tied at 24-24, another kill from Sadati and a Babson error gave MIT the 26-24 win and pushed the match to a fourth set.
- Set 4: MIT carried the momentum into the start of the fourth set, moving ahead 3-0. The Engineers continued to lead through the opening portion of the frame until Babson tied the game at 8-8. Babson took its first lead on a kill by Fouche at 9-8. The teams locked in again, playing to seven more ties and four more lead changes through the rest of the set. MIT took an 11-9 lead only to see Babson take a 12-11 lead. The two conference rivals locked up at 19-19 but Babson found a difference late to win the match. The Beavers pushed to leads of 21-19 and 23-20 before Fouche put Babson on the brink with a kill to make the score 24-21. MIT stayed alive thanks to an error and a Smith ace but the match ended on an MIT service error that gave Babson the 25-23 win in set four.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Sadati chipped in 13 kills and two aces as Tolstova posted seven kills and 12 digs.
- Jennifer Cen and Grimes both registered three blocks.
- Gonzalez tallied 18 kills and four aces while Fouche finished with 17 kills and seven blocks.
- Ailsa Munro notched 12 kills and seven blocks as Zoe Ackerman totaled 49 assists and 11 digs.
- Sabina Frosk led all players with 20 digs while Sara Arango added 11 of her own.
UP NEXT:
- Both teams return to action on Friday, October 23 at 7:00 PM for the start of the two-day New England Challenge. MIT will host Williams College while Babson will host Middlebury College.
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