Reilly Murphy's 14 blocks helped Bates to a 3-2 win at Southern Maine on Sept. 14, 2016. (File photo by Josh Kuckens/Bates College)

GORHAM, Maine -- Behind the sensational blocking of sophomore Reilly Murphy and first-year Taylor Stafford-Smith, the Bates volleyball team came back from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 (18-25, 25-18, 28-30, 25-22, 15-12) at the University of Southern Maine Wednesday night.

Stafford-Smith (Calabasas, Calif.) posted 15 kills -- including nine in the fourth set, hitting at a .343 attack percentage, to go with a whopping 10 block assists. Meanwhile Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) had a career-high 14 blocks (one solo), the most by a Bobcat in over a decade, to go with five kills.

Senior Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) had 14 kills and sophomore Lauren Brough (Killingworth, Conn.) added eight for the Bobcats (2-3). First-year Gabi Eustache (Buffalo, N.Y.) had a team-high 14 digs, while junior Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) and senior Hannah Tardie (Orange, Calif.) split setting duties with 29 and 20 assists, respectively.

For Southern Maine (5-3), junior Jess Williamson hammered a match- and career-high 31 kills with a .386 attack percentage, along with a career-high 15 digs. Mo Raymond added 15 kills, Megan Nilson passed out 40 assists and Raymond and Jenna Graves shared the Husky team lead with 20 digs apiece.

The Huskies rocketed out of the box to take the first set. The Bobcats turned the tables with a fast start to take the second set. The third set finally went to the Huskies in overtime, putting them on the verge of their first win over the Bobcats since 1985.

But Bates rallied behind Stafford-Smith's nine kills in the fourth set to hold off USM and set the stage for the decisive fifth set. Tied 12-12, Bates took the final three points to clinch the match. The final point came on one of the Bobcats' 16 blocks.

Bates next plays another non-conference match at Brandeis University, Friday at 7pm, before opening NESCAC play Saturday at 2pm at Connecticut College.