GORHAM, Maine -- The Bates volleyball team dropped the first set Tuesday night at the University of Southern Maine before rolling the rest of the way to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-7, 25-20, 25-15) non-conference victory over the Huskies, keeping their unbeaten streak intact.
The Bobcats are now 8-0 for the first time since 1990 and have only dropped two sets in the process. The Huskies fell to 3-7.
Junior Olivia McCulloch (Sunderland, Mass.) tallied a career-high 10 service aces and added six kills and 11 digs in a strong all-around performance for Bates. Junior Delaney Mayfield (Santa Barbara, Calif.) had an immensely effective night at the net, registering 11 kills with only one attack error on 19 attempts (.500) to go with five blocks. Junior Ruby Lightbourn (Los Angeles, Calif.) continued her strong play this season, committing no attack errors while while collecting nine kills on 20 attempts (.450). Junior Angel Echipue (Munich, Germany) posted six kills against one error on 13 attempts (.385).
First-year Emma Eide (Ramsey, N.J.) distributed 18 assists in the match while senior Julia Panepinto (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 12 assists. Senior libero Gabi Eustache (New York, N.Y.) had a team-high 13 digs and added five assists.
Kacey Foerster led Southern Maine with a match-high 13 kills. Sopie Lindsay added 22 assists, eight digs and five kills.
Bates plays its first two home matches of the season, and its first two NESCAC opponents, this weekend at Alumni Gym. Amherst visits Friday night at 7pm, and Bates hosts Middlebury Saturday at 2pm.
