Bates volleyball lifted its record to 8-6 with a 3-0 sweep of Husson University on Sept. 30, 2014. (File photo by Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

LEWISTON, Maine -- Sophomore Chandler McGrath riddled the Husson defense with 13 kills against just two attack errors for a percentage of .550, leading the Bates volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-23) non-conference win over the visiting Eagles Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

Bates rose to 8-6 with its second straight-sets win over Husson this season, while the Eagles dropped to 5-15.

After withstanding a match-opening 4-0 run by Husson, featuring three aces by Nia Arranaga, the Bobcats settled down and set the tone in the opening set, hitting at an impressive .650 percentage with 15 kills and two errors. Husson, meanwhile, struggled to get going, recording just one kill in the set.

Bates senior setter Tess Walther (Santa Monica, Calif.) set up sophomore Nicole Peraica (East Northport, N.Y.), junior Brynn Wendel (Boxford, Mass.) and junior Abby Leberman (Concord, N.H.) for three straight points to even the set at 5-5. Augy Silver took over service with Bates leading 9-8 and she served nine times in a row, a run featuring four kills by McGrath, for a 17-9 lead. Walther was the sixth and final server for the Bobcats in the set, and Mary Deneen gave Bates a 1-0 lead with a kill off an over-ball by the Eagles.

Husson fared a bit better in the second set, using a pair of aces by Kaitlyn Carl and a pair of kills by Bailey Cote to score 19 points in the stanza. McGrath put down four kills in the set, and Peraica and sophomore Gabby O'Leary (Wynnewood, Pa.) combined for six kills with just one error. Senior Miranda Shapiro (New York, N.Y.) and first-year Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) split setting duties in the set and had five assists apiece for the Bobcats.

Husson played a vastly improved third set, out-hitting Bates in attack percentage, .192 to .121. Caela Fenderson had three kills in a 15-8 run as Husson turned a 10-5 deficit into a 20-18 lead, prompting a Bates timeout. The Bobcats regrouped and pulled ahead for a final set score of 25-23, finalized by a Husson attack error.

Peraica finished with seven kills and Deneen added six more. O'Leary had five kills and a team-high seven digs. For Husson, Fenderson finished with a team-high four kills, while Sarah Wilson recorded a match-high nine digs. Alexandra deHertogh collected a match-high five blocks (three solo).

Bates will host Tufts in the Bobcats' first home NESCAC match on Friday at 7pm.