SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (9/16/23) – The Nichols College women's volleyball team suffered a pair of competitive losses during the final day of the Union/Russel Sage Crosstown Challenge on Saturday night at the Viniar Athletic Center. The first setback of the day was a 3-1 loss to host Union College (Liberty League), while the finale was a 3-0 loss to Springfield College (NEWMAC).

The opening setback to Union marks the first loss of the 2023 season for women's volleyball, who slides to 9-2 overall on the day. Union improved to 6-5 with the win, while Springfield moved to 10-1 with their sixth straight win.

By a vote from the participating coaches, senior libero Liz Diorio was selected to the All-Tournament team for her performance throughout the weekend.

Game #2 vs Springfield College (19-25, 16-25, 13-25)

First year middle hitter Maille Ianniruberto led all Bison in kills with five in the effort, while sophomore setter Kya Burdier was a lone Nichols player to hit double figures, collecting 10 assists.

Early indications of the opening set were positive for the Bison, who secured a 4-2 advantage including the matches' first pair of points. However, the Pride eventually found their rhythm and pieced together a 7-0 run, ultimately outscoring Nichols 9-1 in total to claim a new 11-5 advantage.  In an effort to regroup, the Bison would retaliate with multiple 3-0 runs, but would be matched every step of the way by the Pride, resulting in a 25-19 set win for Springfield.

The Pride jumped out to the early lead in the second set, all the while limiting the Bison to individual points at a time up to a 8-4 score. Directly after, another 7-0 run by the Pride saw the lead boosted up to 15-4, which would prove costly down the stretch for the Bison. Despite fighting back at the midway point with a 5-0 run, including a pair of service aces by sophomore Ruby St. Onge, the Pride lead would eventually force the Bison into a 2-0 hole by a 25-16 second set final.

Springfield would finalize the sweep in the third set by a 25-13 final score.  

Volleyball will have the full week off before returning home to the Nichols Athletic Center on Saturday, September 23^rd where they will face their first Commonwealth Coast Conference test of the season against Suffolk University at Noon.