Jacqueline Forney (left) and Mary Deneen (right) attempt to block a Williams attack in Bates' home match against the Ephs on Oct.10, 2014. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

LEWISTON, Maine -- Ryan Farley tied for the match high with eight kills in addition to 23 assists, leading Williams College to a 3-0 victory over the Bates College volleyball team in a NESCAC match Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium. Williams prevailed in set scores of 25-20, 28-26 and 25-16.

The Ephs (16-1, 6-0 NESCAC) remain in sole possession of first place in the conference with their 12th consecutive win. Williams travels to Springfield, Mass., on Saturday to face Clarkson at 12:30pm and Springfield at 3pm.

Bates (8-9, 0-5 NESCAC) stays at home on Saturday to face Amherst College in another NESCAC match.

Tori Jasuta haad eight kills and eight digs, while Claire Miller added seven kills and eight digs for Williams. Raea Rasmussen had five blocks and Catherine Egan also had seven kills in the match. The Ephs attacked at a .223 percentage compared to .030 for the Bobcats.

Chandler McGrath tied for the match high with eight kills for Bates. Nicole Cueli had a match-high 16 digs and Jacqueline Forney led Bates with 13 assists. Mary Deneen contributed seven kills and two blocks.

Facing possibly the best team in New England, Bates held its own for most of the match. In the first set, Williams led by no more than eight points, at 20-12, before Bates reeled off six straight, with freshman Augy Silver serving, to pull within 20-18 on a Williams attack error. An attack error by McGrath interrupted Silver's string of serves, but McGrath came back with a kill to make it 21-19. Miller, Egan, Katherine Lane and finally Farley pieced together one kill apiece against one kill by Bates over the remainder of the set for a 25-20 win.

The second set was even tighter, with neither team serving more than five consecutive times, and neither team leading by more than five points, as Bates did at 10-5. Williams led 21-18 until a service error led to five straight serves by Bates' Nicole Cueli, taking the lead on three straight kills by Deneen, then going up 23-21 on an ace by Cueli. A kill by Miller, set up by Rasmussen, gave Williams' Amanda Schott the serve with a 27-26 Ephs lead, and a Bates attack error gave Williams a 28-26 set victory and a 2-0 match lead.

Williams had an easier time in the third set, closing out the match by a 25-16 score. A pair of aces by Miller amid five straight serves led to a 13-7 Williams lead. Williams' edge expanded to 22-12, and the Ephs scored their final three points of the match on kills by the setter Farley.