UNION, N.J. (1/18/25) – The No. 13 Nichols College men's volleyball program came up empty handed on Saturday in part two of The Clash at Kean Tournament. The Bison first fell to No. 9 Wentworth Institute of Technology in the opener, 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 25-27), before closing the day with a 3-1 setback against host Kean University (26-28, 25-21, 19-25, 21-25).

The Bison shift to 1-3 overall on the season following the two-day event.   

Match #1 vs No. 9 Wentworth Institute of Technology

Against the Leopards, the Bison were led by 13 kills and 13 digs from Jack Normandin, earning him his first double-double of the season. Tanner Soracco chipped in with 10 kills and eight digs, while Chandler Olson handed out 18 assists. Cade Bernardi contributed 11 digs in the defensive effort.

The Bison and the Leopards went point-for-point with one another in the opening set, with the largest lead belonging to the Leopards late in the action at 22-19. A handful of Wentworth errors combined with two Normandin kills then tied the score at 24-24, before the Leopards claimed the 1-0 match advantage by way of the tiebreak, 26-24.

After the Bison built an 8-5 lead to start the second, the Leopards won three straight points to tie the score at 8-all. Nichols would take another shot at pulling away thanks to kills from Normandin and Adam Vincent, making it 15-11, only to see Wentworth answer a second time to tie the set at 15-15. The Leopards subsequently scored 10 of the next 15 points to win the set 25-20.

In the final leg of the match, Nichols overcame a 16-13 deficit to take the lead 23-22 on a Normandin kill, in sight of what would be a 25-25 standoff between the two sides. As was the case in the opening set, the final two points fell to the Leopards, ending the match by a 27-25 tiebreak.  

Match #2 vs Kean University

Nichols was paced once again by Normandin in the closer, as the outside hitter posting a match-high 17 kills on .452 hitting, alongside eight digs and two blocks. Soracco added 14 kills with 11 digs for his second double-double in as many nights, while Olson recorded 49 assists with 11 digs for his own double-double performance. Bradyn Pomainville registered 10 kills on 19 swings, and Bernardi added 13 digs defensively.

The Bison improved their overall hitting in match two, finishing 59-22-133 (.278) as a team with a 59-55 edge in total kills.

The Bison continued to give their opponent all they could handle in the opening set versus Kean, but again came up short as the Cougars took the first point by a 28-26 score. However, Nichols returned fire late in the second set by using a 6-1 run to take a four-point lead over the Cougars at 22-18, with Kean committing three errors in that span. The two sides then split up the next handful of points, before a final Pomainville kill sealed the win for Nichols to tie the match at 1-1.
Kean continued on to win the remaining two frames, earning themselves the 3-1 victory at home.

For his efforts in the tournament, Normandin was named to The Clash at Kean All-Tournament Team. 

The Bison will look to rebound in their home opener this coming Friday, January 24^th when they will host Emerson College (0-0) for a 7:00 PM opening serve at the Nichols Athletic Center.