DUDLEY, Mass. (10/10/23) - The Nichols College women's volleyball team held off visiting Keene State College, 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 12-25, 25-21) in non-conference action on Tuesday evening at the Nichols Athletic Center.
The Bison improve to 11-5 (0-2 CCC) on the season with the win, while the Owls fall to 8-11 (2-2 LEC) overall with the loss.
Juniors
Ryley Plourde and
Luna Colozzo each finished in double-digit kills for Nichols with 10 apiece, while Plourde additionally hit .833 off 12 attempts with eight digs. Sophomore
Ruby St. Onge helped keep the pace for the Bison with a season-best 23 helpers, while junior libero
Liz Diorio led the defensive effort with 20 digs.
In the opening set, Nichols got off to a hot start and began with a 11-4 lead, powered by a 4-0 run. Keene State got their fair share of points back throughout the frame, but the Bison continued to keep their foot on the gas and strung together a second 4-0 streak later on in the set, helping them to a 22-15 advantage. Ultimately, the first set would fall in favor of the Bison by a 25-21 final.
The Owls quickly swung the momentum to start the second set, as Nichols found themselves trailing 9-2 after salvaging two points on back-to-back kills by
Luna Colozzo. Despite the situation, things quickly found their way back to the host side as the Bison mounted a massive 9-0 run, guiding them back to the lead by a 13-10 margin. The remainder of the set continued to see both teams scoring in bunches, but the bulk of the strikes again slid in favor of Nichols, resulting in a 2-0 match lead by a 25-19 score.
With the score at 13-10 Keene State in the third, the Owls finally broke silence with 12 of the final 14 points scored, claiming the set, 25-12.
To close out the night, Nichols reverted back to their early set success and climbed to a 7-2 lead in the fourth. Down the stretch, Nichols would boost their lead to 15-9 with the help of three Owl errors. To keep things interesting, Keene State then rattled-off five unanswered points to pull to within one of the Bison, which in turn allowed them to keep up with the Bison the rest of the way through. With it all coming down to the wire, the Bison were able to secure the final point needed for the win, which came by a close 25-21 score.
Women's volleyball returns to action on Thursday, October 10
th with a CCC road matchup against Endicott College at MacDonald Gym in Beverly, Massachusetts. Coverage for the match is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
