Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Three players reached double digits in kills as the University of New England defeated Bates College in non-conference women's volleyball, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18) at the Harold Alfond Forum. Set scores were 25-22, 18-25, 25-18, and 25-22.

With their fourth consecutive victory, the Nor'easters improve to 10-12 overall. The loss is the seventh in-a-row for the Bobcats, who fall back to 8-13 on the year.

Senior Leah Janelle tallied a match-high 14 winners for UNE, and made it a double-double with 12 digs. Sophomore Grayson Szczepaniak and first-year Courtney Lambrese both added 11 kills -- Szczepaniak also put down a pair of solo blocks, and Lambrese hit at .526 for the match. First-year Brooke Gibbons notched 36 assists to guide the attack, and recorded three aces. Defensively, senior Rachel McGahie and sophomore Nikki Mathewson went for 17 and 15, digs, respectively.

For Bates, six different players registered kills, all between eight and five. Junior Mary Deneen led the way for the offense, going 8-of-16 with zero errors on the the attack, while classmate Abby Leberman and sophomore Chandler McGrath each chipped in with seven kills. McGrath also shared the team-high in digs (13) with junior Laryssa Schepel, and was part of three blocking efforts with sophomore Nicole Peraica. Senior Tess Walther and sophomore Hannah Tardie combined for 28 assists.

The largest margin of the 1st set came at 19-15 in favor of the Nor'easters, following back-to-back kills from Janelle and Gibbons. The Bobcats got within one on two occasions (21-20, 23-22), but an attack error and then an ace by McGahie pushed the hosts to 25. UNE hit .333 in the frame, while overcoming five service errors.

Bates answered in the 2nd, leading from start-to-finish. An early 7-1 edge for the visitors was cut to two (7-5), but the gap swelled to as many as nine in the latter portion of the stanza. Helping the Bobcats level the contest were Leberman, McGrath, Peraica, and first-year Lisa Slivken with three kills apiece in the set.

UNE saw a 5-2 cushion turn into a 6-5 deficit during the initial stages of the 3rd, as junior Brynn Wendel capped the four-point spurt with a pair of winners. The Nor'easters regained the advantage for good moments later, and from 13-10, rattled off a 7-1 run with three kills from Janelle in the middle to build a nine-point lead. Bates responded with six of the next seven to get within four, but a kill and a block from Szczepaniak down the stretch put Big Blue over the top.

Play was back-and-forth in the 4th set, until a 4-0 stretch made it 20-17 for the Nor'easters. A 20th service error by UNE reduced the margin to 22-21, but Lambrese soon knocked down the final point to give Big Blue the match.

Both sides are back at home on Wednesday (7 p.m.), with UNE hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match, and the Bobcats entertaining Maine Maritime Academy.