MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Shae Delany had 17 kills and 17 digs and Phoebe Shorney added 16 kills and six blocks, but the Babson Volleyball team was able to close the fifth set on a 10-2 run to come from behind and take a 3-2 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Wesleyan University. 

Set scores were 23-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 15-11 in favor of the Beavers. The loss ends the CMS season with a 20-8 record, after the Athenas came back for a dramatic five-set win over La Verne last weekend just to qualify for the tournament. Babson improves to 23-7 overall and moves on to tomorrow's NCAA Regional Semifinals. 

The fifth set featured a pair of big momentum swings, as CMS used an 8-1 run to take a 9-5 after the Beavers took an early 4-1 advantage. Brooke McKee had back to back kills to tie the score 4-4 and Skye Dunn followed with an ace to give the Athenas a 5-4 lead, before an error extended the CMS run to five straight points. 

After Babson stopped the run to close to 6-5, CMS picked up three more points in a row to take a 9-5 advantage. Shorney had a kill to make it 7-5 and two Babson errors put the Athenas up 9-5, stretching the run to 8-1. 

However, the Beavers regrouped and rattled off the next seven points to go ahead 12-9. Anna Ryan had a kill to stop the run and make the score 12-10, and then combined on a block with Stella Gajar to fight off a match point and bring the Athenas within 14-11. But Isabella Allen answered with a kill to send Babson on to the next round. 

CMS took a 1-0 lead with a 3-0 run to end the first set after being down 23-22. Delany had a big kill to tie it, and McKee followed with a kill to put CMS ahead 24-23. After Babson took a timeout, an attacking error gave the Athenas a 1-0 lead in the match. 

Babson used a 7-0 run in the second set to take a 13-6 lead and pull away for a 25-15 win to level the match at a set apiece, but the Athenas again won a close third set 25-23 to go ahead 2-1. With the score tied 21-12, Delany had a kill and then combined with Shorney on a block. Another block from Shorney, this time with Solvej Eversoll, made the score 24-22, and after a Babson kill, Shorney finished off the set off an assist from Hayden Lin to put CMS ahead 2-1. 

Delany had 17 kills on 37 attempts, hitting .378, and added a team-high 17 digs. Shorney ended the match with 16 kills on 32 attempts for a .344 hitting percentage. McKee also had a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs, ending her standout four-year career with 1174, fourth all-time in CMS history, as well as the second-highest single-season total this year with 439.

CMS loses McKee and fellow senior Shelby McIlroy off of this season's team, but returns 15 of its 17 players next season as it will look to get back to postseason play.