HARTFORD, Conn. (10/5/24) – The Nichols College women's volleyball team picked up a split at the Trinity College Tri-Match Saturday afternoon, defeated Worcester State University in straight sets, 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-10) before falling to host Trinity College by the same score (22-25, 23-25, 16-25) inside Ray Oosting Gymnasium.

With the split, the Bison move to 3-9 (0-2 CNE) overall on the season.

Match #1 vs Worcester State (3-0)

The Bison registered 35 kills on .250 hitting through all three sets against the Lancers, rounding out one of their top offensive performances of the season. Junior Kya Burdier led the attack with a match-high 14 kills alongside with a season-high .448 hitting percentage, while senior setter Ruby St. Onge dished out 18 helpers in the effort. Graduate Liz Diorio piloted the Bison back row, totaling a match-high 18 digs to go along with four assists.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams that featured 15 ties and eight lead changes. The turning point came late when Nichols mounted an 8-3 run to turn a 19-17 deficit into a 22-20 lead, which forced the Lancers to play from behind up to a 25-all tiebreak. The Bison then closed out the set by scoring the next two points on a Lancer attack error and Mairead Frost kill, winning 27-25.

The back-and-forth play continued throughout the bulk of the second set before a 4-0 Bison run pushed Nichols out in front 21-17. The Lancers countered with two quick points to close the gap to just two points, but not before a service error followed by a Burdier kill restored Nichols four-point lead late at 23-19. The frame then went to the Bison, as Burdier scored a kill prior to a Luna Colozzo set-winning kill.

The Bison turned it on in the third set, firing off seven unanswered points midway through to claim a 17-6 advantage. From there, back-to-back Burdier kills helped increase Nichols' lead to 20-7, before a trio of Lancer attack errors made it a 23-9 score. The Bison went on to complete the sweep with a 25-10 win in the third, capped by a Maille Ianniruberto kill.

Match #2 @ Trinity College (0-3)

Senior Luna Colozzo played both sides of the ball, totalling a match-high 11 kills and seven blocks while St. Onge once again led in the assists department with 14. Diorio continued to pace the defense, this time contributing nine digs with six assists.

Nichols dominated the early stages of the first set, claiming an 11-3 lead. However, the Bantams gradually chipped away at the Bison lead, eventually claiming a 20-18 edge late in the set behind three consecutive points. The Bison continued to battle through the remainder of the frame, but it would be Trinity claiming the win by a 25-22 final.

The Bison again rode the hot hand to open the second set, scoring the first seven points with kills from Colozzo, Mairead Frost and Gabrielle McKayle. Unfortunately, Trinity came roaring back with their own run, outscoring the bison by a 12-4 margin to claim a 12-11 lead. From there, Nichols would tie the score three more times, before the two teams traded sizeable runs late in the frame to bring the score to 24-23, Trinity. The Bantams then scored the final point, winning the set 25-23.

In the third set, the Bison again fell victim to a Trinity comeback. Trailing 9-3 early, the Bantams battled back to claim a 20-12 lead over the Bison, outscoring their opponent 17-3 in the process. Nichols would fail to recover, with Trinity completing the sweep by a final of 25-16.

The Bison will host Endicott College (11-5, 3-0 CNE) at the Nichols Athletic Center for a conference showdown on Wednesday, October 9^th at 7:00 PM.