LEWISTON, Maine — The Bates College volleyball team celebrated its home opener in convincing fashion Friday night, sweeping Nichols College 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-15) in the first-ever match played at the Bobcats' temporary home of Underhill Arena.
The Bobcats improved to 6-0, their best start to a season since opening the 2019 campaign with eight consecutive victories. Friday also marked the first meeting between Bates and Nichols. The Bison fell to 0-9.
Bates hit .370 for the match, putting down 36 kills with only nine attack errors on 73 attempts. The Bobcats also served 15 aces while holding Nichols to 18 kills and a .097 hitting percentage.
Sofia Castiglioni (Sr.) led a balanced attack with eight kills on 12 attempts, hitting .500, while
Anaïs Reneaum (Jr.) was nearly perfect with seven kills and no errors on eight swings for an .875 hitting percentage.
Jaime Bartley-Cohen (So.) contributed five kills without an error on eight attempts (.625), three service aces and six digs.
The Bobcats wasted little time taking command in the opening set. Leading 7-4, Bates reeled off four straight points behind the serve of
Alice Fischer (Fy.), including three aces, to extend the advantage to 11-4.
Bates later turned a 16-6 lead into a 23-6 advantage with seven unanswered points, a run highlighted by two kills from Castiglioni and two service aces from
Isabel Bettencourt (Sr.).
Lauren Croom (Jr.) closed out the dominant 25-8 opening set with an ace of her own.
Nichols stayed within striking distance for much of the second set, trailing just 14-11 before Bates began to pull away. The Bobcats extended their lead to 21-13 behind kills from
Jordan Blackburn (So.), Bartley-Cohen and Castiglioni. Reneaum finished the 25-17 victory with her seventh kill of the match.
Bates broke open the third with a 5-0 run that turned a 2-2 tie into a 7-2 advantage. The Bison never got closer than three points the rest of the way, and the Bobcats steadily stretched the margin. Bartley-Cohen delivered an ace to bring Bates to match point before Castiglioni put down the final kill for the 25-15 victory.
Fischer handed out a match-high 18 assists and served four aces, while sophomore
Riley Huml (Fy.) added 10 helpers.
Elle Faris (Jr.) recorded five kills without an error and a team-high seven digs, while
Aneesa Ravula (Fy.) added three kills on seven attempts.
The garnet and white gets right back at it Saturday at 2:00 p.m. when the Bobcats open NESCAC competition vs. Williams (6-2, 1-0 NESCAC).
