DUDLEY, Mass. (2/14/2025) – The Nichols College men's volleyball team opened New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) play with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-19) sweep over Russell Sage College inside the Nichols Athletic Center on Friday evening.

The Bison improve to 5-9 (1-0 NEVC) overall following the home win while the Gators fall to 3-12 (0-1 NEVC) with the loss.

Jack Normandin led the way for the Bison with nine kills in the win, while also adding five digs and two service aces. Dylan Knapp and Tanner Soracco each tallied eight kills in the sweep, and combined for five blocks at the net. Chandler Olsen served as the playmaker for the Bison, totaling a match-high 29 assists. Nichols combined for a .377 team clip, committing just nine errors on 69 attempts, and a dominant 35-15 edge in total kills.

The Bison jumped out to a strong 10-point, 13-3 lead in the first set and never looked back thanks to five Gator errors and two kills apiece from Soracco, Normandin and Conor McCabe. Over the next several rallies, Russel Sage trimmed the difference down to eight points, but quickly fell behind again by double-digits following another pair of Soracco kills. The Bison outside hitter provided one more kill to bring the action to set point, before Normandin finished the job to give Nichols a 1-0 match lead.

Nichols' dominance continued in the second set, which began with a 7-2 host lead ending in back-to-back McCabe service aces. As was the case in set one, Russell Sage slowly whittled away at the Bison lead to trail by just five points at 15-10, only for Nichols to restore a 10-point edge with an 6-1 run to make it 21-11. The Bison went on to score the final three points of the set, winning on a final Normandin service ace.

The third set was a much closer fight as the teams traded points back-and-forth for the majority of the frame. With the score at 16-15 Nichols, the Bison rattled off four points in a row on two Normandin kills and a pair of Gator errors, giving them a 20-15 edge. The Gators continued their fight to stay alive, but failed to overcome the deficit as McCabe hammered home the winning kill at the end of the match, completing the home team sweep.  

With the rest of the weekend off, the Bison will next take to the road non-conference match at Rivier University (4-6, 1-3 GNAC) on Wednesday, February 19^th. Opening serve is slated for 7:00 PM at the Muldoon Center.