DUDLEY, Mass. (4/11/24) - The top-seeded Nichols College men's volleyball program bested fourth-seeded SUNY Poly in four sets in the New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) semi-final round on Thursday night at the Nichols Athletic Center. The Bison won by set scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-12, and 25-12.
No. 1 Nichols advances to the NEVC Championship for the third consecutive season, improving to 23-4 (7-0 NEVC) overall. SUNY Poly, who was limited to a .127 hitting percentage on the night, finishes the season 14-16 (5-3 NEVC). The win also marks a new single-season program record for the Bison.
Graduate outside hitter Jack Normandin led the way for the Bison by recording 16 kills on 26 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage, while also scoring six service aces in the winning effort. Junior Dylan Knapp hit a match-high .692 clip, while also tying both freshman Bryce Bonville and senior Tanner Soracco with nine kills. The offense was sparked by a match-high 40 assists from graduate Carlos Mercado. The Bison hit a combined .337 through the four sets.
In the opening set, the two teams found themselves deadlocked at an early 6-6 tie before Normandin fired off four straight kills to give the Bison a 10-6 edge. The Wildcats managed to steal a point back, but Nichols rallied for another 4-0 run capped by a Normandin ace to up the Bison lead to 14-7. The two teams traded points the rest of the set, with Nichols claiming the win, 25-16.
The Wildcats came out in the second set with authority and quickly found themselves up 9-6. The Bison rebounded by taking four of the next five points, including a pair of kills from Mercado to bring the score to a level 10-10. From there, the points pinballed between the two sides until the Wildcats scored on back-to-back kills to take a 17-15 lead, leading up to an eventual 25-22 second set victory for SUNY Poly to tie the match at 1-1.
The Bison reassembled in the third set, earning a 10-4 lead with kills from Normandin and Bonville. Shortly thereafter, Bonville recorded a five-point service run that was stamped with a Knapp kill to further the Bison lead to 16-5, putting the set well out of reach. Despite a late resurgence, the Wildcats would never recover as the Bison marched onward to a 25-12 third set win.
In the final frame, the Bison climbed out to an early 6-0 lead, and later led by as many as 12 points at 20-8. The Wildcats again struggled to narrow the deficit, with Nichols finishing the job by way of a 25-12 win.
Nichols is now set to face off against second-seeded Eastern Nazarene College (18-6, 6-1 NEVC) in the conference championship match on Saturday at 7:00 PM at Nichols Athletic Center. The match will mark the second meeting of the season between the squads, as the Bison downed the Lions in straight sets on March 1st.
