BOSTON, Mass. (9/5/2026) – The Nichols College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday at the Emerson Tri-Match, falling to Emerson College in three sets (16-25, 12-25, 15-25) before dropping a 3-0 decision (17-25, 16-25, 18-25) to Simmons University at the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium.
With the losses, the Bison fall to 0-3 overall on the season. Emerson improves to 2-0, while Simmons moves to 1-1.
Match #1 vs. Emerson College (2-0, 0-0 NEWMAC)
Sophomore
Alyssa Morse led the Bison attack with nine kills, while senior
Jhudny Pierre added seven kills while hitting .313. Senior
Elizabeth Mullen and freshman
Lena Heini each recorded two service aces to lead Nichols from the service line. Freshman
Naseem Hennouch contributed nine assists and eight digs, while freshman
Sofia Novak recorded eight digs to help anchor the Bison defense. Mullen and freshman
Kaitlyn Rodrigues each added four digs.
The match opened with the Lions quickly jumping out to a 7-1 advantage behind a combination of service aces and kills. The Bison slowed Emerson's momentum with kills from Pierre and Morse, along with an ace from Mullen. Emerson responded with three straight points before beginning to pull away, extending its lead to 15-8 as Nichols struggled to generate points outside of Emerson errors. The Bison added kills from Morse, Pierre and freshman
Ella Pratt, but the Lions closed the set with two straight points to take the opening frame, 25-16.
The second set opened with the Bison taking their first lead of the match, scoring four straight points behind kills from Morse and Pierre. The Lions responded with four consecutive points of their own before the teams traded points through the early portion of the frame. Emerson then caught fire in the middle of the set, scoring 10 consecutive points before an attack error ended the run. The Lions maintained control to close out the frame, 25-12.
The third set opened with both teams trading points, with Nichols finding early success on kills from Pierre, McKayle and Pratt. The Bison and Lions continued to exchange points through the early portion of the frame, with Nichols taking a 10-9 lead following a McKayle kill. Emerson responded with a five-point run to take a 14-10 advantage before Nichols battled back with kills from Morse and an ace from Heini to cut the deficit to 16-12. The Bison continued to fight, earning points from Morse and Pratt, but Emerson maintained its lead and closed the set with two straight points to take the final frame, 25-15, and complete the sweep.
Match #2 vs. Simmons University (1-1, 0-0 GNAC)
Sophomore
Alyssa Morse and freshman
Liliana Bottone each recorded three kills, while senior
Jhudny Pierre led the Bison attack with five kills. Senior
Elizabeth Mullen and freshman
Kaitlyn Rodrigues each recorded two service aces, while Bottone added one from the service line. Freshman
Ella Pratt led Nichols with two blocks, while Pierre added one. Freshman
Lena Heini led the Bison with six assists, followed by Morse with three and Rodrigues with two. Rodrigues also anchored the Nichols defense with eight digs, while Heini added five and freshman
Sofia Novak contributed three.
The first set opened with both teams trading points, with Nichols finding early success behind kills from Pierre and Hennouch and a service ace from Pratt. The Sharks began to pull away midway through the frame, using a combination of kills and service aces to build a 10-5 advantage. The Bison continued to battle, with kills from Pierre, Bottone and Decoteau helping Nichols remain within striking distance. Simmons maintained its lead through the remainder of the set, closing the frame, 25-17.
The second set opened with the Bison and Sharks trading points, with Nichols taking an early 5-3 lead following a service ace from Rodrigues. Simmons responded with a run of its own, eventually taking a 9-5 advantage behind a pair of service aces. Nichols battled back to tie the frame at 9-9 before the Sharks regained control and slowly extended their lead. The Bison found points from Bottone, Morse and Pratt to remain within reach, but Simmons pulled away late and closed the set, 25-16.
The third set again saw both teams trade points early, with Nichols taking a 4-2 lead after a service ace from Rodrigues. Simmons answered with a four-point run before the Bison battled back to even the frame at 6-6. The Sharks then began to create separation, building a 12-8 advantage before Nichols responded with kills from Bottone and Pierre and a service ace from Mullen. Simmons continued to hold the lead, but Nichols fought back to cut the deficit to 17-15. The Sharks closed the match with a late run, taking the final set, 25-18, and completing the sweep.
The Bison will look to bounce back on Tuesday, September 8th, at 6:00 PM when they travel to face the Framingham State University Rams at Logan Gymnasium in Framingham, Mass.
