AMHERST, Mass. -- Senior Sydney Phillips recorded eight kills to pace the Bates volleyball team in a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-15) loss at Amherst Friday night in NESCAC action.

Phillips (Plainville, Mass.) led the Bobcats (1-4, 0-1 NESCAC) in kills for the second time this season. She also tallied a solo block. Junior Emma Eide (Ramsey, N.J.) recorded a team-high 14 assists, chipping in two kills, two service aces and seven digs. First-year Kate Hansen (Menlo Park, Calif.) notched a match-high 11 digs and delivered a pair of service aces as well. First-year Alyssa Lowther (Wyckoff, N.J.) added five kills, seven digs and a block. 

Jamie Dailey led the charge for the Mammoths (4-0, 1-0 NESCAC) with a match-high 11 kills, one assist, two service aces, two blocks and nine digs. Carly Cooper recorded a match-high 17 assists. 

Amherst's kill percentage of .258 was the difference in the match, as Bates finished with a kill percentage of .086. The Mammoths finished with 49 digs, 10 more than the Bobcats.

An Eide service ace in the first set cut the Amherst lead to 11-8 but the Mammoths slowly but surely pulled away, going up 16-11 before a 5-0 run put the set out of reach. 

Another Eide ace gave Bates a 2-0 lead in the second set before Amherst six unanswered points. The Mammoths took a 21-11 lead before the Bobcats rallied. Four straight points from Bates keyed by back-to-back Hansen aces trimmed the Amherst edge to 21-15. The teams traded points to make the score 23-16 and Bates went on another 4-0 run, making the score 23-20.

But Dailey put a stop to the run and Caroline Tilton recorded a kill to finish off the closest set of the evening at 25-20. 

With the score 6-3 in the third set, Amherst went on a 4-0 run and didn't look back, never allowing Bates to get within closer than five points the rest of the way. 

The Bobcats return to action Saturday when they visit Middlebury for a match that gets underway at 2pm.