BABSON PARK, Mass. (October 6, 2026) – Babson College, ranked No. 16 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III coaches poll and No. 10 in the first NCAA Division II NPI rankings, halted Emerson College's, ranked No. 21 in the NPI rankings and among teams receiving votes in the AVCA poll, eight match winning streak with a 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-23) victory in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball matchup at Staake Gymnasium tonight.
Senior Zoe Ackerman engineered the Babson attack that posted a .244 hitting percentage with 37 assists. She dished assists to seven different hitters, led by sophomore Ailsa Munro with a match-high 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Classmate Devon Burke added 11 kills and three digs.
Junior Sabina Frosk recorded a match-high 21 digs for Babson with three assists, while freshman Maya Foley chipped in with three blocks for the Beavers.
Senior Rachel Dickerson paced Emerson with nine kills, six digs and two blocks, while junior Chloe Hokenson dished out 15 assists with six kills and nine digs for the Lions. Senior Lauren Yoo added 14 digs, five assists and a service ace, while sophomore Lizi Horning chipped in seven kills.
Babson grabbed control by hitting .368 as a team in the opening set with Ackerman doling out 15 assists to five different hitters in the frame. Munro led the Beavers with seven kills and just one error on ten total attacks (.600). Babson took control of the set with seven straight points on sophomore Misaki Harte's serve as Ackerman dished out six assists between Burke and Munro for three kills apiece during the run for a 22-12 lead the Beavers would not relinquish.
Emerson erased a five-point deficit with eight straight points on Yoo's serve, keyed by three-straight blocks during that stretch. Babson fended off three Emerson set points to grab a two-set lead with Ackerman netting set points for the Beavers with a setter attack after an ace.
Babson scored the first five points to grab quick control of the third set. Emerson rallied to take the lead (15-13) after a Hokenson kill and Babson error. The Lions lead was still two (19-17) after a Dickerson kill, but Babson would rally once more and close out the match with a 5-3 run keyed by a service ace despite a late Emerson rally on back-to-back Horning kills to draw within a point (24-23). Senior Hailey Fouche closed out the match with a kill. Ackerman distributed 13 assists to six different hitters, led by four kills from sophomore Liberty May.
Emerson (13-2, 4-1 NEWMAC) returns to action on Friday when it hosts Emmanuel College for a non-conference matchup at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium at 5 p.m. Babson (12-2, 4-1 NEWMAC) visits La Verne College for a non-conference matchup on Friday at 9 p.m.
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