Box Score CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team saw its 2015 season come to an end Friday afternoon after a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) loss to Babson College Friday afternoon. The victory advances Babson to the second round tomorrow afternoon at the Rockwell Cage.
 
In the first set, Babson took control of an early see-saw battle and opened up early 10-5 and 15-10 advantages that forced Roger Williams to take two timeouts. Still, the Beavers continued to pile on after the second timeout and earned their largest lead of the set at 18-10. Soon after, however, the Hawks rallied to win six of the next seven points to close their deficit to 19-16 prompting Babson to stop the bleeding with a timeout of their own. The timing proved to be key as the Beavers came out of the break and won six consecutive points to take the set, 25-16.
 
The second set mirrored the first in many ways but this time a back and forth competition had Babson leading by a slim 13-12 margin. That changed beginning with a kill from senior outside hitter Mary Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) that sparked a 5-0 spurt to put the Beavers firmly in charge. The Hawks closed the lead to 19-16 and 22-19 but another timely Babson timeout revitalized the Beavers as they closed the set out with three straight points, 25-19.
 
A win-or-go-home third set for Roger Williams brought the most competitive set of the match by far, featuring seven ties and seven lead changes. The battle raged to-and-fro with no team able to grab more than a four point advantage. Trailing 15-12, the Hawks rallied one more time behind a pair of service aces from junior outside hitter Kristen Boyer (Ephrata, Pa.) and a kill by classmate Sarah McAniff (Redding, Conn.) to nab a 17-15 advantage.
 
That slim lead would be short-lived as Babson roared out of a timeout with five consecutive points led by two kills from Donahue and a service ace by senior setter Angela Price (Medway, Mass.). A Roger Williams timeout wasn't enough to stop the bleeding as the Beavers ended the match on a 10-0 run punctuated by a kill from junior Lorraine Mackiewicz (Edison, N.J.) to win the set 25-17 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
 
Babson was led by Donahue and rookie middle blocker Gizem Yilmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) with eight kills apiece while senior outside hitter Alicia Wilde (Franklin, Mass.) and classmate Elizabeth Sullivan (Oxford, Wis.) each had double-digit digs with 21 and 13, respectively. Price and senior setter Krissy Robertson (Dedham, Mass.) led the way 13 and 10 assists respectively.
 
Senior outside hitter Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) earned a game-high 10 kills for Roger Williams while sophomore Maria Batas (Merrick, N.Y.) led her squad with 14 digs. Sophomore setter Josalyn Benson (Phoenix, Ariz.) and senior setter Nicole Weber (Poulsbo, Wash.) finished the contest with nine assists apiece.
 
The Beavers will face the winner of Bowdoin College and UMass Boston tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
 
- Release courtesy of the MIT Sports Information Department