WELLESLEY, Mass. – Looking to bounce back from an already tough week, volleyball could not get over the hump as they dropped a pair of matches falling by the finals of 3-1 to both the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Babson College Saturday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium on the campus of Babson College.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 1, U.S. Coast Guard Academy 3
UMass Boston 1, Babson College 3

UMass Boston (6-10)
U.S. Coast Guard Academy (11-6)
Babson College (14-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

In their first match against the Coast Guard Academy, the Beacons fell into an early 2-0 hole following back-to-back 25-19 losses.  With their backs up against the wall, UMB rallied in a big way in the third as they took a 25-14 win.  In the deciding fourth set, the two teams exchanged points throughout the frame, but it was the Bears who slipped past as they earned a 29-27 decision.

Against the host Beavers, UMB jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a 25-22 win in the first set.  Unfortunately, from there Babson would hit their stride as they picked-up a pair of 25-13 wins to take a 2-1 lead.  They then clinched the victory with a 25-15 win in the fourth.

Eileen Shi (San Francisco, Calif.) led the Beacons in their match with the Coast Guard Academy as she registered 15 kills and a .270 hitting percentage.  Christina Elliott (Camas, Wash.) tallied 20 assists, while Macayla Chianco (Clearwater, Fla.) was one of three Beacons to finish with 10 or more digs, which included a double-double for Shi.  The Beacons combined for four solo blocks and 12 block assists at the net in the non-conference loss.

Shi would once again be the lone Beacon to record 10 or more kills (12) in their final match of the day.  Unfortunately, the junior All-American would hit just .000 on 39 attempts, while Sarah Doyle (Glendale, Calif.) finished second with just seven kills.  Elliott managed a season-low nine assists, no one on the Beacons record double-digits in digs.  Rachel Maslach (Berlin Center, Ohio) was one of two Beacons to record multiple block assists in the loss.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's loss to Coast Guard marked the first in three meetings all-time
• The win over the Beacons marked their second in the last three matches and extend their all-time record to 27-8
• The Beacons offense managed to hit just .165 against Coast Guard and .019 against Babson
• UMB combined for 10 aces in the two matches and had a total of four solo blocks and 20 block assists

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a conference match.