BABSON PARK, Mass. – Freshman Mary Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) kicked off her collegiate career with a team-high 10 kills and senior captain Kathleen Lynch (Quincy, Mass.) dished out 22 of her 25 assists in the first two sets as the Babson College women's volleyball team opened its 2012 season with a 3-0 sweep of the visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology in a non-conference match at Staake Gymnasium on Friday night.
The Beavers (1-0) never trailed during the contest, which began with a 4-0 Babson run that was fueled by three kills from Donahue and another from senior Cathy Tinker (Woodbridge, Conn.). The hosts continued to tack on to their lead over the course of the first set, going up 18-7 after a service ace by sophomore Kseniya Stepanova (Upland, Calif.). Wentworth would respond with an 8-2 run that would close the gap to 20-15, but two kills by freshman Alicia Wilde (Franklin, Mass.), an ace from junior Karla Flores (San Juan, Puerto Rico), and a pair of Leopard errors over the next six points enabled Babson to take the opening set, 25-16.
Set two saw the Beavers surge out to another quick lead, as three more Donahue kills helped the hosts go up 7-1 early on. Four other Babson players would register kills during the remainder of the frame en route to an easy 25-8 win. The Green and White then began the final set with another 4-0 run, capped by another kill from Donahue, on their way to a 25-10 set win and the 3-0 match victory.
Donahue committed just three errors on 20 attack attempts for a .350 hitting percentage on the night, while fellow freshman Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass.) hit .500 with seven kills and one miscue on 12 attempts. Wilde also hit well, registering six kills and one error for a .417 mark, and Lynch complemented her 25 assists with four kills on seven attempts for a .571 hitting percentage. Freshman Angela Price (Medway, Mass.) took over setter duties early in the third set, finishing with seven assists in her collegiate debut.
Defensively, the Beavers received a team-high 10 digs from Flores, five digs from rookie Elizabeth Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.), and two total blocks from Tinker. Meanwhile, Stepanova led the way with three of the team's nine service aces.
Sophomore libero Jessica Houghton (Billerica, Mass.) paced Wentworth with 19 digs in defeat, while senior Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) added eight digs to go with a team-high four kills. Senior Nicole Wetherbee (Pembroke, Mass.) chipped in with three kills and five digs, and sophomore setter Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) recorded a team-best eight assists.
(Recap Courtesy of Babson College Sports Information)
