Volleyball Fights Hard, Falls at Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass. -- The Mitchell College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 final at Nichols College on Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Athletic Center.

The Bison won by set scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 27-25 and improved to 4-5 overall on the season. Jayleen Fegan and Haylee Granato combined for 29 of Nichols' 44 kills while Rachael Veilleux handed out 28 assists.

Bree Rudolph paced Mitchell with 11 kills and hit .242. Olivia DeLoach added a team-high 16 digs while Hannah O'Brien recorded a career-high 27 assists. 

The opening set was tied at 21-21 before a pair of errors gave the Bison a two-point lead. Nichols finished off the set behind kills by Fegan and Ryley Plourde to grab the early 1-0 advantage.

A 6-0 run gave Nichols a 12-6 lead in the second, but Mitchell fought back to win eight of the next 10 points to tie things up at 14-14. Five different players supplied a kill for the Mariners during the spurt, including a pair by Rudolph. However, Nichols followed up with another 6-0 run to regain control down the stretch.

Leading 20-16 in the third set, Mitchell seemed ready to extend the match when Nichols came roaring back behind a 7-1 run. The Bison missed out on their first match point as a kill by Rudolph tied the score at 25-25. Moments later, back-to-back kills by Fegan and Plourde ended the match in three sets.

Mitchell (3-9 overall) will next play at Suffolk University on Thursday, October 7 at 7 p.m.