Cambridge, Mass. - November 5, 2022 -The Springfield College women's volleyball team was downed in three sets by Babson College (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Semifinals on Saturday in MIT's Rockwell Cage. 

Babson advanced to the title match and will face off with top-seeded MIT as it improved to 21-7 on the year.  Springfield's season comes to a close with an 18-9 mark. 

Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) led all players with 13 kills and added 10 digs for the Pride, while Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) chipped in five kills off the bench.  Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) also produced a match-high 10 digs in the setback. 

Babson jumped out to a 5-1 lead to start the match and Springfield called for an early timeout at 8-3.  A kill from Donahue pulled the Pride within 10-7, only to have the Beavers register the next four points to force Springfield into its second timeout.  The Beavers would push their advantage to 10 points en route to the 25-17 win as Springfield hit .093 in the opener, despite five kills from Donahue. 

The Beavers carried that momentum into the second, scoring the first six points of the set and racing out to a 15-3 cushion. Springfield would get no closer than six points as Babson took a 2-0 lead the in match following a 25-18 win. 

A block from Julia O'Connor (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Aurissa Boardman (Brooklyn, Conn.) pulled Springfield within 8-7 in the third, but Babson would respond with an 8-1 surge to take control of the frame.  The Pride would get within three four times, the last at 24-21, before Babson delivered their 13th kill of the set to complete the sweep. 

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