Box Score Lewiston, Maine - The visiting Trinity College Bantams lost a heartbreaking, 3-2 match against the Bates College Bobcats in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) volleyball action this afternoon in Alumni Gymnasium. Trinity falls to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the NESCAC, while Bates, 0-10 in league play in 2014, improves to 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the league. Trinity won the first set, 25-20, but lost the next two, 25-22, and, 25-18. The Bantams won the fourth set, 25-222, and were serving for the match with a 15-14 lead in the fifth set, before dropping the next three points. The win was the win first for Bates over Trinity since 2008.
Trinty senior tri-captain OH Kate Giddens (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) had match highs of 22 kills and five service aces, including seven kills and four aces in the first set. Senior co-captain RS Hunter Drews (Clifton Park, N.Y.) added 16 kills and 13 digs, while rookie Hannah Engstrom (Hopkinton, Mass.) had seven kills and a team-high 15 digs. Senior S Gina Buzzelli (Cheshire, Conn.) had a match-high 41 assists with 11 digs, and first-year OH Rachel Underwood (Danville, calif.) contributed 14 digs.
With a team-high 21 kills, junior Chandler McGrath reached the 20-kill mark for the third time this week, and the fourth time in her career. She added 12 digs for her second double-double this season. Lisa Slivken contributed 10 kills while Claire Naughton posted nine kills and three blocks. Jacqueline Forney had a team-high 26 assists to go with nine digs, while Hannah Tardie also had a double-double with 17 assists and 17 digs. Tardie clinched the victory with a setter's dink over the net, her fifth kill of the match.
