PAXTON, Mass. – The Nichols College women's volleyball team split its season-opening tri-match at Anna Maria Saturday afternoon at Fuller Activities Center, defeating Becker 3-1 before dropping a 3-1 decision to the AMCats.
 
Nichols 3, Becker 1 (28-26, 15-25, 25-23, 25-22)
Sophomore J'ena Baker (Rockledge, Fla.) posted 19 kills and 35 digs to lift the Bison past the Hawks in the first match at NC for head coach Peter Maneggia, Jr. Classmate Jayla Simmons (Rockledge, Fla.) notched 20 digs while freshman Haley Pichard (Hingham, Mass.) hand out 32 assists, junior Sabrina Boermeester (Billerica, Mass.) tallied seven kills and 14 digs, and sophomore Megan Gardner (South Deerfield, Mass.) recorded nine kills and eight digs.
 
Anna Maria 3, Nichols 1 (24-26, 25-10, 25-16, 25-21)
Baker recorded a double-double, leading the Bison in both kills (19) and digs (20). Boermeester collected nine kills and nine digs, Simmons added 20 digs, and Pichard dished out 27 assists.
 
All-Time Series
Today's contest marked the second all-time meeting with both Anna Maria and Becker. The Bison improved to 1-1 lifetime against the Hawks and move to 0-2 lifetime against the AMCats
 
Next up
Nichols (1-1) – Wednesday, Sept. 6 @ Mitchell, 7:00 p.m.
Anna Maria (2-0) – Tuesday, Sept. 5 vs Fitchburg St., 7:00 p.m.
Becker (0-2) – Tuesday, Sept. 5 vs Mount Ida, 7:00 p.m.