DUDLEY, Mass. (9/27/23) – The Nichols College women's volleyball team fought back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set but found their comeback efforts fall short against non-conference opponent UMass-Boston (LEC) on Wednesday night at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The loss marks the fourth straight setback for the Bison, who drop to 9-4 (0-1 CCC) overall on the season. The Beacons improve to 8-5 overall with the road win.

Senior Haylee Granato led the Bison attack with her eighth double-double of the season, registering 12 kills with 10 digs. Sophomore setter Kya Burdier also broke into double figures with a team-best 23 assists, while senior libero Liz Diorio defended with a team-best 18 digs.  

Through the first two sets of play, the Beacons picked out their spots on the floor with a balanced attack, which earned them wins by scores of 25-20 and 25-16 respectively. However, the Bison offense eventually found its groove in the third set after maintaining a lead over UMass-Boston through the first 10 points played, which then translated into an 8-0 run to put the hosts ahead by nine, 17-8. It would not be long after that Nichols would secure another 4-0 run to boost their lead, ultimately resulting in a 25-15 final score in the third set to cut the deficit down to 2-1.  

The fourth set was tight throughout, with nine total lead changes between the two teams. Despite this, a late surge by the Bison gave Nichols a second set victory to bring the action to a 2-2 standoff. Trailing 22-21 late in the period, Nichols then took over by securing four of the final five points, which was punctuated by a kills from junior Ryley Plourde and sophomore Mairead Frost.

With the game on the line, Nichols would appear to hold all the cards following a dominant start to the fifth set. After surrendering the opening two points in the frame, the Bison would outscore the Beacons by an 8-2 margin, later climbing to a 10-6 lead. However, after calling a timeout to slow the Bison roll, UMass-Boston would immediately flip the script on Nichols late in the action, robbing them of their comeback bid by winning 15-13 in the final set with seven of the final eight points.

Nichols will look to put the loss in the rearview mirror with their next matchup scheduled for Friday, September 29^th at 6:00 PM against Massachusetts Maritime Academy.