NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Alyssa Lowther had 13 kills, Sydney Phillips added 11, and setter Emma Eide tallied a career-high 10 kills to go with 37 assists and 16 digs, as the Bates College volleyball team defeated Connecticut College 3-1 (25-22, 30-28, 22-25, 25-21) for its first NESCAC victory this season on Friday night.

With all four sets closely played, the Bobcats overcame 12 Cpnnecticut College blocks to outhit the host Camels in attack percentage, .130 to .106.

Senior Megan Seabury (Santa Barbara, Calif.) led Bates in digs with 22. Junior Charlotte Morris (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had 13 digs and first-year Kate Hansen (Menlo Park, Calif.) pitched in with 11 digs and five service aces. Junior Catie Sanchez (Pasadena, Calif.) also played a big role with six kills and three blocks.

Emma Wheeler led Connecticut College (2-5, 0-4 NESCAC) with 14 kills and five blocks, while Avery Light added 10 kills and four blocks and Katie Gunderman contributed eight kills and four blocks. Lauren Carey (26 assists) and Natasha Shrivastava (12) split setting duties. 

Bates trailed 19-13 and then 20-19 in the first set when a kill by Lowther (Wyckoff, N.J.), followed by a Morris kill and another Lowther kill, put Bates in a 22-20 lead, and the Bobcats held on to take the set 25-22. 

The Bobcats took a commanding 2-0 lead by outlasting the Camels in an extended second set. Connecticut College led 26-25, 27-26, and 28-27, but Bates scored three points in a row to take the set, with a kill by Hansen, a Camel ball-handling error and finally a Lowther kill.

Bates and Connecticut College were tied at 21-21 in the third set, and the Camels rallied with their backs against the wall, extending the match another set with a 4-1 run fueled by a kill and two blocks by Wheeler.

Bates prevailed in a run-filled fourth set to take the match. The Camels rallied from an 18-14 deficit to tie it at 18-18, but Bates answered with three straight and a 21-18 lead, with kills by Phillips (Plainville, Mass.) and Lowther. Conn came back to within two (22-20), but a Lowther kill, a Hansen service ace and finally a Sanchez kill clinched the victory for Bates.

Bates stays in Connecticut to play at Wesleyan University Saturday at 2pm.