POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Nichols men's volleyball team notched its first-ever 20 win season with a 3-0 victory over SUNY Potsdam in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play on Sunday afternoon at the Maxcy Field House. Nichols won by set scores of 28-26, 25-16, 25-22 to advance to 20-6 (7-0 NECC) while the Bears dropped to 15-14 (4-3 NECC) in the defeat.
 
In the first set, Nichols got some separation as back-to-back kills from Carlos Mercado and Tanner Soracco gave the Bison a 17-13 advantage. The Bears would continue to battle back, and on a four-point swing, tied the set up at 20-20 before a Mercado kill gave the Bison a slim lead back. The Bears would force it to set point at 24-22, but Nichols used five kills and a Beavers' service error to take the first set, 28-26.
 
Trailing by one at 13-12 in the second, the Bison went on a nine-point run highlighted by four kills and two Mercado service aces to put Nichols in the driver's seat, 21-13, to help take a 2-0 lead into the third.
 
The Bears took an 11-6 lead on four-straight Nichols errors, but the Bison responded quickly with four-straight points of their own to cut the deficit to one. The home team's lead would not be overtaken until Dylan Knapp and Luis Martinez kills made it 21-20. Both teams kept it close throughout the remainder of the set, but Nichols would score three-straight points at 22-22, capped off by a Martinez and Soracco block, to win the match.
 
Martinez put on one of his best performances of the season on the right side, notching 15 kills on 23 errorless swings to hit at a .652 clip, adding 11 blocks, two block assists, and an assist. Out of the middle, Knapp was stellar, logging nine kills with one error on 13 attempts to hit at a .615 percentage. Soracco logged a solo block and five block assists, while Nicholas Basco's 14 digs led the way.
 
Nichols will travel to face off with the current fourth-ranked Springfield Pride in a Tuesday evening showdown at Blake Arena with first serve set for 6:00 p.m.