BABSON PARK, Mass. -- First-year Alyssa Lowther turned in a second straight strong performance but the Bates volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-18) to the No. 23 nationally ranked Babson College Beavers at the Babson Invitational Friday night.

Lowther (Wyckoff, N.J.) led all players with nine kills. She also chipped in a team-high four blocks and seven digs on the evening. Junior Emma Eide (Ramsey, N.J.) led the Bobcats (1-1) with 13 assists. She added three kills, two service aces, two blocks and four digs.

Senior Megan Seabury (Santa Barbara, Calif.) led all players with 16 digs and first-year Kate Hansen (Menlo Park, Calif.) added 10 digs of her own. Hansen also recorded a pair of service aces. Senior Sydney Phillips (Plainville, Mass.) contributed a pair of kills, three blocks and two digs.

"It was an awesome defensive effort by the team tonight," head coach Emily Hayes said. "To battle like we did against a nationally ranked opponent this early in the season was impressive." 

Laura Zuloaga paced Babson with eight kills and four blocks. Caroline Applewhite led all players with 23 assists.

The Beavers opened up an 8-1 lead in the first set. Bates battled the Beavers to a stand-still the rest of the way but fell 25-16. The Bobcats were within two in the second set at 7-5 before the Beavers went on a 10-run, eventually winning 25-11.

The third set turned out to be the closest of the night. Down 22-9, the Bobcats refused to back down. Eide keyed the rally with a service ace followed by a kill. Now down 23-13, Bates forced four straight Babson errors, cutting the deficit to six. But the Beavers (5-0) held on for the 25-18 win, clinching the match.

Friday's match marked the first time Bates had played Babson in volleyball since 1994. They are now 3-2 all-time against the Beavers.

The Bobcats are back in action at the Babson Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday. They take on Salve Regina at 1pm and UMass Boston at 3pm.