BABSON PARK, Mass. — The Bowdoin College women’s volleyball team saw its record-setting season come to an end in a 3-0 loss to Babson in the regional final of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Sunday at Babson.
The Polar Bears finished the year with a program-record 29 wins against just two losses and the 2018 NESCAC Championship.
The Beavers (26-8) advance to the national quarterfinals next weekend in Pittsburgh.
The Polar Bears lost in three close sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22. It was Bowdoin’s first three-set loss of the season.
Babson opened up a 17-11 lead in the first set. Bowdoin cut the lead down to three points on three occasions before dropping the set.
Bowdoin appeared to have rebounded and rushed out of the gate on an 8-3 surge to start the second set. Babson answered with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to a single point, but Bowdoin was able to maintain the lead until late in the frame. Babson took its first lead of the set at 21-20 and clinched it with a kill from Gaby Miller.
The Polar Bears led again in the third set, but a 7-0 run by Babson gave the Beavers the lead for good, building a 15-9 advantage that Bowdoin failed to overcome. Bowdoin came within a single point on three occasions, including at 23-22, but Babson won the final two points to clinch the match.
Allie Puccio led Babson with 17 kills, while Ashley Williams paced Bowdoin with 13.
Polar Bear seniors Sydney Salle, Lisa Sheldon and Khelsea Gordon finish a phenomenal career with a record of 85-27, two NESCAC Championships and the program’s first-ever NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2015.
Earlier wins
Bowdoin opened the regional with a 3-1 win over Worcester State on Friday.
The Polar Bears dropped the first set, 25-23, but rebounded to win the final three, 25-22, 25-14, 25-17.
Four Polar Bears reached double digits in kills, led by 13 from Sophia Pahl, who also had three service aces and 10 digs. Caroline Flaharty had 11 kills and 20 digs for Bowdoin, while Cori Gray added 10 and three aces. Williams pitched in a dozen kills, with Kate Kiser racking up 49 assists and a trio of aces. Sheldon had a team-best 26 digs.
Bowdoin rolled over Johns Hopkins, 3-0, in the second round on Saturday, capturing set wins of 25-19, 25-22, 25-23.
Salle and Flaharty had nine kills each in the victory.
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