NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Bears fell to No. 23 Babson College 3-1 (25-8, 28-26, 25-14, 25-19) to open up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. Babson improves to 8-1, 2-0 NEWMAC, and Coast Guard falls to 9-2, 0-1 NEWMAC.

Sophomore Kaela France led the Bears with 20 digs, while Carmen Zipf and Shannon Shaw added nine and six, respectively. Senior Noelle Tursky had nine kills to lead the Bears, while Freshman Allie Wildsmith added six. Junior Elizabeth Atkinson led Coast Guard with six blocks.

The Bears came out cold in set one, with Babson jumping to an 8-0 lead with several aces from Lauren Gips. Coast Guard got a few back on blocks from Carlee Lingle, Atkinson, and Tursky to bring it to 10-5. However, the Bears couldn't string more than a few points together and dropped the set 25-8.

Set two ignited a fire under the Bears and they came out swinging. With Tursky serving, the Bears took an 8-4 lead with kills from Claire Portigue, Lingle, and Tursky to force a timeout from Babson. Coast Guard grabbed a few more points with kills and blocks from Portigue, Shaw, and Atkinson to go up 11-5. Babson battled back for the 17-17 tie, but the Bears were able to capitalize on a few of the Beavers' errors to take a 22-18 lead. Both teams carried energy to 24-24, 25-25, and 26-26 ties, with rallies the whole way. After a Babson service error, Atkinson sent a ball down to secure the set for the Bears.

The Beavers caught the Bears on their heels to start set three, and after going up 2-1, Babson never relinquished the lead. The Bears made small pushes on service by France and Wildsmith, but ultimately fell 25-14.

Set four saw some more fight from Coast Guard, with the Bears taking an early 5-4 lead off a kill from Tursky. Both the Bears and Beavers battled throughout the set, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead until Babson went up 20-16. After a CGA timeout, the Bears brought it back within two on a kill from Portigue and an ace from Zipf. However, the Bears could not close the gap any further and ended up dropping the set 25-19 to give the Beavers the win for the match. 

The Bears are back in action on Tuesday, September 20 on the road at Smith College for continued NEWMAC play at 7 PM.