DARTMOUTH, Mass. (9/16/24) –The Nichols College women's volleyball team struggled to contain an aggressive UMass Dartmouth attack in a 3-0 (10-25, 19-25, 11-25) non-conference loss inside the Tripp Athletic Center Monday evening.

The Bison move to 1-3 overall with the loss, while the Corsairs improve to 7-3 with the win.

Senior Luna Colozzo was once more the leader on the floor for Nichols, totaling a team-high six kills and 10 digs. Junior Hailey Wright was also a leader in the effort with eight assists, with senior Ruby St. Onge finishing close behind with seven of her own. Wright, along with her assist totals, was one of three players to record a service ace for the Bison.  

UMass Dartmouth stormed out of the gate and grabbed an early 9-0 lead before the Bison scored their first point of the night on an Maille Ianniruberto kill. The Corsairs maintained control of the set by mounting an 11-4 run down the stretch, which gave them their largest lead of the set at 20-5. Nichols would manage three points in a row late in the set,  but to little effect as the Corsairs took the set, 25-10.

The Corsairs continued to pile on the points in the second set but were met by a resilient Nichols rally the second time around. With the score at 18-7, back-to-back Kya Burdier kills spearheaded what would be Nichols' largest scoring run of the night of 6-0, which assisted them in outscoring the Corsairs by a 12-5 margin to narrow the deficit to just four points at 23-19. However, the Corsairs managed to halt the Bison rally by securing the final two points of the set, winning by a 25-19 score.

The third set was all UMass Dartmouth, as another 9-1 lead early on proved to be too much for the Bison to overcome. The Corsairs went on the complete the sweep with a 25-11 win. 

Women's Volleyball will look to turn things around with a road matchup at Bridgewater State University (1-6, 0-0 MASCAC) this Wednesday, September 18^th at 6:00 PM.