WORCESTER, Mass. (8/31/2024) - The Nichols College women's volleyball team came up short in their season opener on Saturday afternoon, falling to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) by a score of 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 21-25, 22-25) inside Harrington Auditorium.

The Bison open the season at 0-1, while the Engineers improve to 1-1.

Graduate outside hitter Haylee Granato led the Bison attack with nine kills, alongside hitting .318 in the effort. Three total players scored double-digit digs for Nichols, led by junior Mairead Frost with a career-high of 16, while junior setter Hailey Wright introduced herself with 27 assists.  

The match was a battle right out of the gate as each team fought each other through a total of 13 ties and five lead changes in the first set. Nichols, however, eventually gained the upper hand late in the frame thanks to five unanswered points for a 19-16 lead. WPI returned to tie the set at 22-all, but senior Luna Colozzo restored the lead by following up a kill with a service ace, bringing the score to set-point at 24-22. Nichols then went on to win the set thanks to a WPI service error, 25-23.

WPI answered back with a 25-14 victory in set two, evening the match at 1-1. The Engineers grabbed control of the set early on at 12-4 and never looked back and led by as many as 10 points. Despite an improved attack in the third set, the Bison still had to battle from behind against the Engineers, with the hosts claiming a 2-1 match lead by a 25-21 score.

Nichols challenged the hosts in the final set by erasing a 6-2 deficit to take an 8-6 advantage, highlighted by a pair of Frost kills. Down the stretch, with the score tied at 15-15, WPI regained control thanks to a 4-0 run for 19-15 lead, before eventually taking the set by a 25-22 final score.

The Bison open their home schedule this Tuesday, September 3^rd against Elms College (0-0), with opening serve scheduled for 7:00 PM.