SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (11/1/23) – In their final road matchup of the 2023 regular season, the Nichols College women's volleyball team fell to in-conference host Western New England University, 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 13-15) on Wednesday night at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.  

The setback drops the Bison to 15-10 (1-6 CCC) on the season, while the Golden Bears improve to 11-10 (5-2 CCC) with the home win.

For Nichols, junior Luna Colozzo was a standout with a match-high 17 kills and a .325 hitting percentage, which also paired nicely with a new career-best 22 dig performance for her fourth double-double of the season. Two other Bison also recorded double-double performances on the night, with sophomore Kya Burdier pairing 24 assists with 16 digs, and Ruby St. Onge delivering 22 assists with 12 digs.

The opening set would go to the Golden Bears as they took the early lead with the help of 11 kills, six service aces and eight errors on the Bison, winning by a 25-16 score.

However, the Bison turned things around in the second set, utilizing multiple scoring runs to come back from an early 8-4 deficit. One of the runs, which took place at the midway point of the set, saw the Bison collect four consecutive kills off the efforts of both Burdier and St. Onge, as well as Melina Bezati and Ryley Plourde, giving Nichols their first lead of the set at 14-13. Nichols would continue to keep their rhythm the remainder of the set, finishing the task with a 4-0 run to close it out by a 25-20 score.

Energized by their win in the second, the Bison sprinted out of the gate in the third to take an early 5-0 lead, only to see their lead vanish just as quickly as WNE responded with a 6-0 run to stake a 9-7 lead shortly thereafter. Nichols eventually rediscovered their scoring ways to pull back in front by a 19-13 score, which provided enough insurance to secure a 25-21 win in the set.

In the fourth set, WNE owned the lead from the very beginning and never looked back. After the Golden Bears opened the period with a 4-0 run, Nichols made things interesting at the tail end of the period, pulling to within three points of the hosts with a 4-0 run of their own. Despite the effort, WNE claimed the final point needed to force a deciding fifth set.   

The fifth set was a tough pill to swallow for the Bison, as a 10-4 lead slipped away with WNE winning by a 15-13 final score.

The Bison will play host to the University of New England Nor'easters for their final regular season showdown on Saturday, November 4^th. It will also be Senior Night for Nichols women's volleyball, with first serve scheduled for 1:00 PM at the Nichols Athletic Center.