WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Bates College volleyball competed with Williams College throughout much of the second and third sets but lost 3-0 (25-8, 25-18, 25-15) to the hosts in the NESCAC opener for both teams at Chandler Gymnasium on Friday night.

The Bobcats (6-4, 0-1 NESCAC) matched the Ephs (9-1, 1-0) in the first halves of both the second and third sets before Williams used late runs in each game to gain separation from the visitors.

For Bates, first-year Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) led the team with five kills, junior Tess Walther (Santa Monica, Calif.) paced the squad with nine assists, and first-year Aubyn Link (Houston, Texas) notched a team-best seven digs.

On the Williams side, senior Emily Doll (Villa Park, Calif.) and first-year Tori Jasuta (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) tied for the match high with eight kills, sophomore Ryan Farley (La Jolla, Calif.) dished out a match-leading 30 assists, and junior Amanda Schott (Niskayuna, N.Y.) recorded a match-high 12 digs.

After dropping set one, 25-8, the Bobcats rebounded strongly in set two before the Ephs pulled out a 25-18 win. Bates held a 16-14 lead in the set after McGrath notched two kills out of three points to force Williams to call a timeout. With the set later tied at 17-17, the hosts closed the game with an 8-1 run. Neither side held a lead larger than three in the set until Williams took a 22-18 advantage.

Set three followed a similar script as the Bobcats tied the match early at 9-9 off of consecutive points. Bates remained within striking distance – trailing 16-14 – before the Ephs finished the set with a 9-1 streak to take a 25-15 win in the final set.

Bates continues NESCAC play tomorrow at Amherst at noon before taking on Endicott at 2 p.m. in a neutral-site match also at Amherst.