For Immediate Release
October 7, 2008
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Sweeps Babson, 3-0
WELLESLEY, Mass. – In a battle of cross-town rivals, Wellesley defeated Babson College, 3-0, this evening in front of a packed house at Keohane Sports Center. The Blue used solid floor defense and a strong, versatile offense to snap Babson's seven-match winning streak, out-hitting the Beavers .321. to .071. The win lifts Wellesley to 16-4 overall, 4-1 in the NEWMAC. Babson drops to 11-4, but keeps pace with the Blue in conference play at 4-1.
The opening rallies of the first set proved to be a blueprint for the first two games, as the teams traded sideouts. A short serving run from Heather Mellquist (Baltimore, Ohio) gave Wellesley a 12-7 lead, but the Beavers trimmed the lead 18-15, courtesy of aggressive serving from Becca Rydzik (Beacon Falls, Conn.). A kill from Jessica Duff (Milton, Abingdon, UK) stopped the charge, and Wellesley cruised to a 25-18 win.
Wellesley carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to an 11-5 lead. Once again, the Beavers rebounded, cutting the lead to 13-12, as Caitlin O'Neill recorded two of her nine kills. The Blue surged ahead once more, taking a 19-14 lead, and held off a late Babson charge to take the second set 25-22. The third set proved to be all Blue, as Wellesley bolted to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, taking the final game 25-15.
O'Neill and Meg Flaherty (Hollis, N.H.) led the Beavers at the net, recording nine and eight kills, respectively, while Amanda Medin (Baltimore, Md.) chipped in five. Ryan DePaoli (Kennesaw, Ga.) led Babson with 16 digs, followed by Rydzik with nine and Flaherty with seven. Setter Shanna Glassner (Orland Park, Ill.) tallied 22 assists in the loss.
Duff led the Blue attack, hammering 15 kills. Samantha Du (Houston, Tx.) added ten, while Alice Cummings (Tallahassee, Fla.) chipped in nine. Emily Peters (Temescal Valley, Calif.) led all players with 23 digs, as Victoria Peng (Diamond Bar, Calif.) guided the Blue offense with 39 assists.
Babson returns to action Thursday evening, at 7:00 p.m., when travel to Suffolk University for a non-conference match. Wellesley has a rare weekend off and will take the court next Tuesday, October 14, for a 7:00 match at Clark.