DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's volleyball team battled hard, but came out on the wrong end of a 3-0 victory by Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday night in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match at the Nichols Athletic Center in Dudley, Mass.
 
The Lions used set scores of 25-21, 25-23, and 25-9 to down the Bison.
 
Sophomore J'ena Baker (Rockledge, Fla.) led the Bison with a double-double of 10 kills and 23 digs to go with a pair of blocks and two assists. Classmate Megan Gardner (South Deerfield, Mass.) added eight kills and two blocks, while sophomore Lexxus Andrews (Uxbridge, Mass.) added three kills, three digs and an ace.
 
Freshman Haley Pichard (Hingham, Mass.) handed out 17 assists to go with an ace and a kill, with sophomore Jayla Simmons (Rockledge, Fla.) registering a match-high 26 digs and adding a pair of aces. Simmons broke her own record for digs in a game which had previously been 22 digs set against Pine Manor on October 13, 2016.
 
Eastern Nazarene was led by 17 kills and 14 digs from sophomore Courtney McCarthy (Merrimack, N.H.). Sophomore Hailee Owen (South Portland, Maine) added eight kills, while junior Rebecca Ashman (Havre de Grace, Md.) chipped in five kills. Senior setter Kayla Dean (Lansdale, Pa.) posted 29 assists to go with eight digs.
 
Joining McCarthy in double-digit digs were the freshman duo of McKenzie Walling (Rock Hill, S.C.) and Jenna Meacham (Millington, Mich.), who posted 25 digs and 14 digs apiece, respectively.
 
All-Time Series
Tonight was the second meeting between the two programs and the Lions hold a 2-0 advantage in the series. Eastern Nazarene won last season's matchup 3-1 in Quincy, Mass.
 
Next Games
Nichols (2-12, 1-2 CCC) – Wednesday, Sept. 27 vs. Plymouth State – 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Nazarene (8-8, 1-2 CCC) – Wednesday, Sept. 27 vs. Elms – 7:00 p.m.