Women's Volleyball Falls at Nichols in Three Sets

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball was defeated 3-0 (13-25, 21-25, 11-25) in a non-conference road match at Nichols College Tuesday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center. The Blazers move to 1-6 overall, while the Bison improve to 2-3 on the year.

In the first set, play was back-and-forth as the Blazers went ahead 2-0 until the Bison responded with three straight points, followed by three straight from Elms to grab a 6-4 lead. The Bison created separation with a 7-2 run, and then pulled away with four unanswered points to build a 16-9 advantage. A kill by Elms sophomore Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, Nev.) halted the Bison's streak, but kills from Nichols freshman J'ena Baker (Rockledge, Fla.) bookended a 7-1 run, en route to the 25-13 win.

The Blazers took an early lead in the second set as a kill from Redding handed Elms a 5-3 lead, and then errors by the Bison pushed the Blazers advantage to 8-4. After a kill from Elms freshman Gabby Holland (East Longmeadow, Mass.) gave the Blazers a 13-9 lead, the Bison whittled the gap to a point, 13-12, with three consecutive points. The Blazers used a pair of kills from freshman Hannah Adams (Deerfield, Mass.) to keep Nichols at bay, but the Bison pulled even at 16-16 on a kill from sophomore Sabrina Boermeester (Billerica, Mass.). A kill from Redding and an ace from Adams regained a 19-18 lead, but the Bison rallied back to close the set on a 7-2 run, featuring a pair of kills from Baker, capturing the 25-21 win.

The Bison carried their momentum into the third set, racing to an 11-1 lead behind kills from Baker, Boermeester and freshman Megan Gardner (South Deerfield, Mass.). A trio of kills from Gardner extended the Nichols lead to 15-4. The Blazers chipped away at the deficit on a kill from Adams and a pair of service aces from senior Alicia Beaupre (Belchertown, Mass.), but the Bison used a 6-3 run to wrap up the 25-11 set victory.

The Blazers offense was paced by Adams with a team-high six kills with nine digs and three service aces. Redding added four kills, eight digs and an ace, while Holland and senior Carolyn Campbell (Millers Falls, Mass.) notched two kills and five digs apiece. Campbell dished out nine assists, and freshman Haley Asselin (South Hadley, Mass.) snared a match-high 11 digs.

Baker powered the Bison with a match-high 14 kills with seven digs. Boermeester had seven kills, nine digs and four aces, while Gardner contributed six kills. Sophomore Moira Burns (Holland, Mass.) logged a match-high 23 assists with five digs and three kills, and freshman Jayla Simmons (Rockledge, Fla.) grabbed a team-high 10 digs.

Elms will return to the court this weekend when they hit the road for the SUNY-Plattsburgh Tournament Friday and Saturday. The Blazers face host Plattsburgh Friday at 7:00 p.m., followed by matches with Southern Vermont and Utica Saturday afternoon. Nichols hosts Pine Manor Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL