BABSON PARK, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team lost to regional power Babson College, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24), on Friday evening in Staake Gymnasium. The Beavers, who qualified for eight of the last nine NCAA Division III Tournaments, received votes toward this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-9), Babson (13-1)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 29 assists, 13 digs, 5 kills, .357 hitting
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 3 kills, 2 blocks
• Sophomore Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle), 16 digs, 4 assists, 2 aces
• First-year Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 7 digs
• First-year Mahili McKay (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd), 5 kills
• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 19 kills, .424 hitting
• First-year D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 3 kills, 3 digs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Lauren Gips, 16 kills, 4 blocks, .519 hitting
• Junior Isabella Allen, 9 kills, .692 hitting
• Junior Sophia Shaw, 11 digs
• Sophomore Zoe Ackerman, 30 assists, 5 kills, .625 hitting

MATCH FACTS

• The teams met for the first time.
• With 1,519 career assists, Báez Rentas passed Jessica Mulroy '06 (1,504) to take over seventh in program history.

THE ACTION

• Gips had three kills as Babson forged a 16-6 lead in the opening set, only to see Schulze drop four kills of her own in a 12-5 response that brought Saint Michael's within 21-18. The visitors came no closer than three points down the stretch before first-year Sofia Ibarra notched the clinching kill.
• Three aces helped the Beavers lead 7-2 in the second set, but a tandem block by Settles and Welch trimmed the deficit to 14-13. Two kills apiece by Allen and Gips keyed a 7-2 counter, and Saint Michael's never again rallied within four points.
• Consecutive Schulze kills and a Farnan ace highlighted a 3-0 spurt that pushed the Purple Knights into an 11-9 lead in set No. 3, but Gips provided two kills and two blocks in a 12-4 run that put Babson up 21-15. McKay's kill for the next point was followed by the next seven Saint Michael's points coming courtesy of Schulze kills, including a personal 6-0 run, and Farnan's ace capped a 9-1 run that had the visitors at set point with a 24-22 lead. Babson tied the set thanks to a pair of errors before Gips closed the clinching 4-0 run with back-to-back kills.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Saturday at Saint Anselm College, 12 p.m.