SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (10/28/23) – It was a fifty-fifty draw on Saturday afternoon for the Nichols College women's volleyball team, as the Bison claimed both a loss and a win at the Mount Holyoke College Tri-Match.

The Bison shouldered the setback against host Mount Holyoke by a 3-0 final, and then finished the day with a sweep over Fitchburg State University by the same score. The result moves Nichols to 15-9 (1-5 CCC) on the season.

Game #1 vs Mount Holyoke College (15-25, 17-25, 21-25)

Freshman Maille Ianniruberto led the Bison with a .182 hitting percentage, and matched senior Haylee Granato on the attack with five kills. Sophomore Kya Burdier assisted with 15 helpers, while senior libero Liz Diorio led the defensive effort with an 18-dig performance.

Mount Holyoke rattled off four straight points to open the contest, which played a part in an early 10-3 advantage over the Bison. Nichols fired back with their own 4-0 run in an effort to chip away at the difference but would fail to get any closer than one point as the Lyons maintained the lead the rest of the way through. The first set would go to Mount Holyoke by a score of 25-17.

The hosts continued their early offensive barrage in the second set with a 6-2 lead but found themselves unable to stop the Bison response a second time. Nichols strung together their longest run of the match with five consecutive points, which included a Ruby St. Onge service ace and three Lyon errors, to swap the lead in their favor at 7-6. The two squads would continue to battle it out through the midway portion of the set up until a 8-2 scoring run by the Lyons, which proved costly for the Bison in a 25-17 loss in the second set.

The third set was a tight battle from start to finish with the Lyons seeking the win and the Bison hoping to avoid the sweep. However, despite Nichols securing a 5-2 lead to begin the set, the Lyons continued to frustrate the Bison by tying the set on four different occasions before eventually pulling away late with four of the final five points earned. As such, Mount Holyoke completed the win in straight sets with a close 25-21 triumph in the third.

Game #2 vs Fitchburg State University (25-14, 25-13, 25-8)
In their second matchup of the afternoon, junior Luna Colozzo paced the Bison with 10 kills on 18 total attempts for a .500 hitting percentage, while also contributing 9 digs. Sophomore Ruby St. Onge also recorded a game-high 22 assists for the Bison, and Liz Diorio repeated as the defensive leader with 19 digs. As a team, the Bison went 35-for-73 for a .370 hitting percentage in the effort.

The Bison opened the second match with a 16-8 advantage in the first set on a kill by Colozzo, allowing the Falcons little leeway from that point onward. Nichols continued to deliver with a  productive attack for the remainder of the set, outscoring the opponent by a 5-1 margin to bring up set point. Liz Diorio then ended the first frame on a service ace to put Nichols up 1-0 by a score of 25-14.

From there, it was all Nichols. The Bison surged out of the gate to build an overwhelming 20-9 lead with the help of back-to-back service aces from Cassie Durocher, once again limiting the Falcons' ability to narrow the gap. The second set would end on a Fitchburg attacking error by a 25-13 difference.

In the third, Nichols piled on nine unanswered points for their longest run of the entire afternoon, resulting in a 11-2 lead. Through the midway portion of the set, both teams swapped strikes before the Bison pushed the action to match point by way of another 9-0 run, with the help of five Fitchburg errors and two kills apiece from Ryley Plourde and Kya Burdier. Before the Falcons could attempt a rebuttal, the final point would fall in favor of the Bison off a service error, completing the sweep with a 25-8 win.

With just two more matchups remaining in the regular season, the Bison will now head to Springfield, Massachusetts on Wednesday, November 1^st for a conference clash against Western New England University. Coverage begins at 7:00 PM from the Alumni Healthful Living Center.