Box Score Babson Park, Mass. - September 22, 2015 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team picked up a key league win as it powered past Babson in straight sets on Tuesday night in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action. The Pride won the match by the scores of 25-16, 25-13, 25-20.
Springfield, which was ranked fourth in today's New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) poll, improves to 10-2, 2-1 in league play. Babson, which was ranked sixth regionally and is the defending NEWMAC Champions, drops to 10-2, 2-1.
The Pride, currently ranked second in the nation in hitting percentage, produced a team-hitting percentage of .280 in the win, bolstered by a .424 performance in the third set. Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) led Springfield with 10 kills and four blocks, while Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) delivered nine kills at a .400 clip. Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) and Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) combined for 31 assists, and Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.) notched a team-best 12 digs to go along three of Springfield's nine aces.
Mary Donahue tied for match-high honors with 10 kills for the Beavers. Elizabeth Sullivan led all players with 16 digs, while Krissy Robertson and Angela Price finished with 11 and 10 assists, respectively. Babson was held to a .066 hitting percentage as a team, their lowest output of the year.
Springfield, which scored the first five points of the match, registered 12 kills and four service aces to take the opening set 25-16. The Green and White got within 10-9 in the second game before the Pride ripped off six of the next seven points, including four on errors by the Beavers, to build a 16-10 advantage that it would not relinquish en route to a two-set advantage.
The third set featured eight ties and a trio of early lead changes before Springfield got a kill from Holt followed by back-to-back Babson errors to go in front for good at 12-9. The Beavers pulled back within two on three occasions, the final time coming at 16-14, but the Pride answered with consecutive kills from senior
Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and junior
Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) to regain control. Helgesen buried her ninth kill of the night to seal the three-game sweep as the Pride earned the critical conference win.
Springfield will continue league play on Thursday when it hosts Smith in Blake Arena at 7:00 pm.
