The Bates volleyball team is now 1-1 in NESCAC play after their 3-0 win over Colby College on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 in Waterville. (File photo by Josh Kuckens/Bates College) 

WATERVILLE, Maine -- The Bates volleyball team picked up a big NESCAC victory Friday night with a 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-17) win over Colby College. 

Senior captain Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) tallied a match-high 14 kills to lead the Bobcats (3-6, 1-1 NESCAC) to their first NESCAC win of the season over the still winless Mules (0-9, 0-2 NESCAC). 

Junior captain Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) tallied all 38 assists for Bates, setting her teammates up for kills all night long. Forney also contributed a match-high 17 digs, showing off her ability both on offense and on defense for the Bobcats. 

Bates got off to a quick start, grabbing an early 9-2 lead. The Bobcats led by as many as 10 points when they extended that early advantage to 17-7. Colby went on a 7-2 run to cut the Bates edge to 19-14 before the Bobcats responded with a 6-0 run to secure the first set victory. 

The second set proved pivotal and was the closest of the night by far. Bates found themselves down 24-23 after an extended point that saw the Mules make a number of outstanding digs on defense. But after the Bobcats called timeout, Colby committed a service error, tying things up at 24. Bates scored the next two points as well to earn the victory, helped out by a big kill from first-year Samantha Schecter (Riverside, Conn.).

After the second set, it was relatively smooth sailing for the Bobcats. They jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the third set of action. Although Colby did cut that advantage to 13-9, the Mules did not get any closer as Bates closed out the final set by a tally of 25-17. 

First-year Julia Panepinto (Buffalo, N.Y.) continued her strong start to the season with four service aces and 12 digs. First-year libero Gabi Eustache (New York, N.Y.) added 15 digs of her own.

Sophomore Claire Naughton (Darien, Conn.) and first-year Taylor Stafford-Smith (Calabasas, Calif.) tallied seven kills each with Naughton notching a pair of service aces.

The Bobcats return to Waterville Saturday afternoon to take on Maine Maritime at 1:30 p.m.