POTSDAM, N.Y. (1/12/24) - Behind 40 team kills and a .223 hitting percentage, the Nichols College men's volleyball team picked up their first New England Volleyball Conference victory in straight sets (25-14, 25-19, 26-24) over SUNY-Potsdam, concluding their trip to the SUNY-Potsdam Tournament on Friday afternoon.

The Bison are off to a 3-0 (1-0 NEVC) start following the win, while the Bears drop to 1-2 (0-1 NEVC) with the loss.

Graduate Jack Normandin led the way with a match-high 12 kills .556 hitting percentage (12-for-18), with fellow graduate Carlos Mercado posting team-highs of 26 assists and 9 digs.

In the first set, Nichols broke it open early with an 8-2 lead, with four of the points coming off Potsdam errors. The lead later grew to 16-9 before the Bison orchestrated an 8-3 run with Dylan Knapp and Bryce Bonville each recording two kills apiece, bringing the Bison to set point at 24-12. Nichols took the set 25-14, courtesy of a Bradyn Pomainville kill. 

The Bison built another early lead in the second set at 7-3, only to see the Bears rattle off four straight points to tie it up. However, the Bison continued to deny Potsdam any type of lead and eventually pulled ahead by a 16-10 with a 6-2 run. The Bears again rallied  to whittle the difference down to two points with another 4-0 streak but failed to inch any closer as Nichols took the second by a 25-19 score.

Nichols was not as successful in denying the Bears through the third set, as an 18-12 lead vanished with a 6-0 Potsdam run to give the hosts their first lead of the afternoon, 22-21. Normandin and freshman Evan Sachs then followed it with respective kills to boost Nichols back into the lead, but just before the Bears tied it on two more occasions to force a tiebreaker. The next and final two points went straight to the Bison, thanks to a Tanner Soracco kill and Potsdam error.

The Bison will now head to Wentworth Instititute of Technology for the four-match Fenway Volleyball Classic, where they will open against SUNY-New Paltz (0-0) on Saturday, January 27^th at 1:00 PM. Later in the afternoon, they will also face Emmanuel College (0-0) at 5:00 PM, with the matches taking place at Tansey Gymnasium.