Volleyball Falls at Babson 3-1

Babson Park, Mass. — The Framingham State University volleyball team received 15 kills from freshman Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and won the first set, but were defeated 3-1 on the road this afternoon by Babson College in non-conference women's volleyball action at Staake Gymnasium.

Sophomores Alicia Wilde (Franklin, Mass.) and Mary Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) combined for 24 kills, and classmate Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass.) chipped in with a team-high 21 assists to go along with nine digs and five kills for Babson College.

After dropping the first set 25-19, the Beavers won three straight frames, 26-24, 25-13, 25-21, to pick up their second consecutive win and move to 17-11 on the year. The Rams, who had their 11-match winning streak snapped, fall to 22-5 on the season.

Sophomore Mary Martin (East Haddam, Conn.) and first-year Brittany Goldschmidt (Delray Beach, Fla.) each had seven kills for Babson, while junior Brianna San Diego (Daly City, Calif.) had 11 digs to go along with a match-high seven service aces. Sophomore Elizabeth Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) had a team-high 12 digs and classmate Angela Price (Medway, Mass.) chipped in with 17 assists for the hosts.

Rackliffe led all players with 15 kills for Framingham State, while junior Maribeth Martin (Barnstable, Mass.) had a team-high 21 assists to go along with 10 digs. First-year Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.) led the Rams with 16 digs, and senior Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, Mass.) contributed 11 digs, five kills, and three service aces.

After dropping five straight points to see its 11-7 advantage evaporate, Framingham State quickly rallied following a timeout to seize control of the opening set. The Rams, paced by a pair of aces from Fernandes and three kills from Rackliffe, won 13 of the final 19 points in the game to take a one-set lead.

The Beavers were able to level the match at a set apiece after weathering eight ties and six lead changes in game two. Clinging to a 23-22 lead, Framingham State used a kill from Wan and a service ace from Martin to come within a point of a two-set lead, but Babson scored three straight points to turn the match around. Donahue pulled the Green and White even with a kill, Robertson then helped them go ahead 25-24 with an ace, and Donahue delivered the final blow with another kill to win the set.

Babson led from wire-to-wire in the third set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead and closing the frame with nine of the final 12 points to take a 2-1 lead.  Babson quickly jumped to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set. The Rams tied the score on five occasions, the last coming at 21-21, to force a timeout by the hosts. The Beavers responded using kills by Robertson and Donahue, as well as a Framingham attack error to take a 24-21 lead. San Diego then capped off the match in style, earning the final point on a service ace to secure the win.

Both teams will return to action on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. as Babson hosts Wheaton in its regular-season finale while Framingham State will take on St. Joseph's (Me.).

Release courtesy of Babson Sports Information.