DUDLEY, Mass. – Freshman J'ena Baker (Homestead, Fla.) posted a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs as the Nichols College volleyball team defeated Pine Manor College 3-0 Thursday evening in non-conference action at the Nichols Athletic Center.
 
Senior Monica Pucko (Gardner, Mass.) racked up 10 kills and seven digs while freshman Jayla Simmons (Rockledge, Fla.) collected 14 digs. Sophomore Moriah Burns (Holland, Mass.) dished out 24 assists.
 
Freshman libero Mary Owen (Houston, Texas) registered 21 digs for the Gators, who hit -.021 for the match. She also had a team-high four kills while junior Ashley Whiteshield (Seward, Alaska) had 13 assists, five digs, and three kills.
 
The Bison rallied from an early 9-2 deficit in the first set to post a 25-22 win. Pucko and Baker each posted three kills while Simmons had nine digs. The duo combined for eight kills in a 25-18 second set win while Burns tallied seven assists. Nichols closed out the match with a 25-13 win in the third set as Pucko recorded three of her match-high six service aces in the final frame.  
 
All-Time Series
Tonight's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Bison lead the series, 1-0.
 
Quotes
"It's pretty exciting for a new program to be on a two-match winning streak. We played aggressive and had overcame some ups-and-downs. We started out very slow but really picked it up in the third set and put them away. We had some aggressive swinging by J'ena that really helped us out." –Nichols head coach Shironda Hollis
 
"It's a great win for us. It brings us to .500, which is what we wanted from the start. Our team morale was very good tonight. We talked a lot. Even when we fell behind, we picked it up and came together as a team. That shows me that we will continue to improve." – Nichols senior Monica Pucko
 
Next Match
Nichols (3-3) – Saturday, September 17 @ Eastern Conn. St., 12:00 p.m.
Pine Manor (2-6) – Saturday, September 17 vs Daniel Webster (@ Suffolk), 1:00 p.m.