BOSTON --The Bates College women's volleyball team remained unbeaten Saturday, sweeping Dean College before rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat host Simmons College in five sets at the Holmes Sports Center.
The Bobcats opened the day with a 3-0 victory over Dean (25-15, 25-18, 25-12) before storming back to defeat Simmons 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-11, 25-14, 15-12). Bates is 4-0 to begin a season for the first time since 2019, when they won their first eight matches.
Against Dean, the Bobcats were dominant offensively, hitting .444 as a team while committing just eight attack errors in 54 attempts. Bates hit at least .389 in all three sets.
Jordan Blackburn (So.) led a balanced attack with seven kills on 11 attempts, while
Anaïs Reneaum (Jr.) and
Elle Faris (Jr.) added five kills apiece. Faris needed just six swings for her five kills, while Reneaum finished with five kills on eight attempts without an error.
The Bobcats also caused problems from the service line, finishing with 20 aces.
Emily Kish (Fy.) led the way with seven,
Alice Fischer (Fy.) had four, and
Lauren Croom (Jr.) and
Riley Huml (Fy.) recorded three apiece. Fischer dished out 12 assists and Croom added 10.
The second match proved to be a much different test.
Simmons (2-4) took the opening two sets, 25-19 and 25-22, putting the Bobcats one set away from their first loss of the season. Bates responded emphatically.
With the third set tied at 1-1, the Bobcats scored 12 of the next 13 points to surge in front 13-2. Kish served for nine straight Bates points during the run, which included a pair of kills from Sofia Castiglioni (Sr.), a Kish ace and two Bates blocks.
The Bobcats never looked back, taking the third set 25-11 on a kill from Kate Norry (Jr.) to extend the match.Â
Bates carried the momentum into the fourth.
With the score tied at 4-4, Fischer helped spark a 5-0 run with three service aces. Later, with Bates ahead 10-5, Faris took over at the service line as the Bobcats reeled off nine consecutive points to extend the advantage to 19-5. Faris recorded four aces during the run, helping Bates cruise to a 25-14 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
Neither team could create much separation in the fifth. Bates held leads of 9-7 and 12-9 before the Sharks battled back to even the set at 12-12.
The Bobcats answered with the final three points of the afternoon. Faris put Bates back in front with a kill, Kish followed with a service ace and Castiglioni delivered the match-winning kill off an assist from Croom to complete the comeback, 15-12.
Norry paced the victors with 11 kills while hitting .421 against Simmons, with Reneaum adding 10 kills and a .692 hitting percentage. Faris finished with eight kills and five aces, while Castiglioni recorded six kills without an attack error and contributed four block assists. Croom handed out 26 assists, with Fischer adding 19 assists and five aces.
After hitting .194 and .200 in the opening two sets, Bates found another gear offensively, hitting .304 in the third, .333 in the fourth and a blistering .588 in the fifth. The Bobcats finished the match hitting .294 while holding Simmons to .092.
Saturday's second match also featured a familiar face on the opposing sideline, as Simmons is coached by former Bates assistant Grace Kenningham, who spent the 2024 season with the garnet and white.
The Bobcats return to action Tuesday night when they travel to the University of New England. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
