LEWISTON, Maine -- In a thrilling NESCAC volleyball showdown, Bates College collected a win for the ages as the Bobcats sent off previously undefeated Amherst College in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) to open conference play.

The victory marks the program's first over the Mammoths in almost 21 years (10/31/03), while also handing Amherst (0-1 NESCAC) its first defeat after starting the fall slate a perfect 8-0.

Trailing Amherst by a score of 22-18 in the initial set of the night, the home team provided a peek of what was to come as the garnet and white fired off a 7-0 blitz to steal the opening stanza. 

With the home team building a 13-8 surplus to open the second, the Mammoths mounted a comeback of their own as the visitors answered with a 5-0 spurt to tie the set at 13-all. The stalemate would be the first of seven overall ties in the frame. With the score knotted at 23-23, successive kills by Sofia Castiglioni and Katie Kortekaas would end the Amherst comeback bid.

With neither team owning more than a two-point advantage through the first 26 points of the third set, Bates broke a 12-12 tie with a four-point push to go ahead by four, 16-12. The Mammoths would proceed to grab the next point before the Bobcats pounced with a subsequent three-point run to build their biggest lead of the frame at 19-13.

Amherst would not lay dormant as the visitors climbed back to within one after a 6-1 counter-punch made the score 20-19 'Cats. Playing it cool all evening, Bates compiled a composed 4-1 response of its own to put the garnet and white within one point of victory.

Owning a 24-20 lead, Kortekaas floored the winning kill, erupting a euphoric Alumni Gym crowd.

Three Bobcats eclipsed double-digits in the kills column, including Ami Evans (14), Castiglioni (13), and the aforementioned Kortekaas (11). Evans also gathered 13 digs to provide the junior her second double-double of the year. Both efforts marked season-bests for Castiglioni and Kortekaas.

First-year setter Skye Higashihara dished 40 assists in the win, giving the first-year 9.00 assists-per-set over the team's seven matches. Sami Kim topped all players with 20 digs, a new personal-best, while Ellie Asada followed with 11 digs of her own.

Bates (5-2, 1-0 NESCAC) now looks ahead to Saturday afternoon when the Bobcats host Hamilton College at 2:00 p.m.