Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Union College volleyball team dropped both of its matches at the New England Fall Classic inside Staake Gymnasium on Saturday, falling 3-0 to #22 Babson University and 3-1 to Smith College. 

#22 Babson 3, Union 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-13)
The Garnet Chargers (7-3) kept things close in the first set, hitting .250 with only two errors. However, Union ran into a buzzsaw against Babson (8-1) as the Beavers entered the match with the fifth-best season hitting percentage in the country at .284. Babson outperformed its season mark in all three sets, beginning with a .452 performance on 17 kills in the first. 

Union put down 20 kills in the match overall, led by four each from juniors Allie Kronenberg and Kayla Martinez Cartagena, and senior Erin Stevens. In spite of the Beavers' dominant performance, first-year Abby Pernick put up a good game defensively with a team-high five digs and eight receptions. She also added a pair of service aces on seven attempts. 

The stats from Saturday's match against Babson are unofficial and will be corrected and published as soon as possible. 

Smith 3, Union 1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-17)
The Garnet Chargers bounced back in the first set against Smith (10-1), hitting .250 in the opening frame for the second straight match. It wasn't immediately smooth sailing for Union in the first though as Smith held a lead until giving it up at 13-13 off an ace from first-year Vanessa Morgan. Her serve was part of a larger 10-2 run for Union that put the Garnet Chargers up 20-15. Martinez Cartagena recorded her second kill of the set to give Union a look at set point and later finished the job with another kill four points later. 

After pushing Union to the brink in the first, the undefeated Bears responded with three straight set wins. Union held Smith to a .267 hitting percentage in the first, but the Bears ended up hitting .361 over the whole match, in part thanks to a .452 mark in the third. Union did not hit over .115 the rest of the way following its strong first set and dropped its third consecutive match at the New England Fall Classic. 

First-year Johanna Melhorn tied her single-match season high with eight kills and hit over .500 for the third time in her young career. She also had two block solos and three block assists for her most blocks (5) in an outing so far. Senior Graciela Escobar tied with Morgan for the team lead in digs (8), and Kronenberg recorded 27 assists. 

The Garnet Chargers will look to regroup prior to their first Liberty League tilt of the season. Union visits William Smith on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. The Herons are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll and went 2-1 at the New England Fall Classic, including a sweep of Smith earlier on Saturday.