Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College volleyball team defeated Babson College for the first time in six years with 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 15-12) come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon. Smith is now 8-1 overall, and 2-0 in the NEWMAC, while Babson is 5-5, and 1-1 against NEWMAC foes.
With eight wins this season, Smith has now won more games than in all of 2012.
Tied at eight in the first set, Smith scored seven of the next eight points as
Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) set up
Paige Sarlandt (Cloverdale, Calif./Cloverdale) and
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) for kills that gave Smith a 15-9 lead, but Babson reeled off a 10-1 burst behind the serving of Elizabeth Sullivan for a 19-16 advantage. Smith pulled within two on an attacking error by Babson's Mary Donahue, but Babson closed out the set on a 6-2 run.
Babson never trailed in set two, going up by as many as four at 16-12 before Smith pulled within one on a kill from
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress). Babson increased their advantage to 21-18 on a kill from Krissy Robertson and never let Smith within four points.
The comeback began in the third set, as Smith jumped out to an early 5-1 lead on
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth)'s kill, and after Babson took an 11-9 lead, the Pioneers rattled off five straight points to force a Babson timeout. Smith led 17-14 before Babson tied the match with assisted blocks by Lorraine Mackiewicz and Robertson, and led 20-19 on a Smith attacking error.
The two teams traded attacking errors to leave Smith with a 22-21 lead, but Babson forced extra points in the set on a kill from Donahue. Ashworth's kills put Smith ahead for good, and another Babson attack error gave Smith the set win.
Set four was similar, as Smith ran out to a quick 3-0 lead before Babson raced back with five straight points.
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress)'s kill from Ashworth gave Smith a 14-12 lead, and neither team put together two straight points until consecutive kills from Smith and Sarlandt tied the set at 19. Drummond sandwiched two kills around a kill from Donahue for a 24-22 Pioneer advantage, only to see Alicia Wilde knot the score with another kill. Extra points were required again as a kill from Drummond and an attacking error from Wilde gave Smith a 26-24 win to even the match.
Smith trailed in the decisive set, going up 8-7 on Ashworth's service ace, and upping the lead to 13-10 on a kill from Drummond. Another Drummond kill put Smith at matchpoint at 14-11, and
Kristi Hammond (Yona, Guam/St. Johns School) finished off the match with a kill from an Ashworth pass.
Drummond finished with 23 kills and a solo block, while
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) had 16 kills and 11 digs. Ashworth finished with 47 assists, and 12 digs, while
Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif./Ramona) and
Sonia Brown (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) went over the 20 dig mark with 28 and 20, respectively.
Donahue led Babson with 19 kills, while Brianna San Diego had 29 digs. Robertson had 30 assists and Angela Price had 26.
Smith will begin a week of road NEWMAC contests with a visit to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday, September 24, at 7 p.m. Babson will host Springfield on the same date, also at 7 p.m.
