Bangor, ME -  Husson Eagles volleyball coach Jodie Fairbank decided to make some changes to her lineup going into Wednesday night's match with the Bates College Bobcats.   

The Eagles have a very young team (their roster carries one junior, three sophomores, and 11 freshman), and Fairbank thought that with a few tweaks they would able to work out some things that would help them in the long-run this season.  

Bates would end up defeating Husson in straight sets (25-15, 25-8, 25-17), but Fairbank felt that it was beneficial for her team, saying, "we really worked some things out, and I think the changes we made will definitely help going forward.  We were right in it at the end there, but Bates is a really good team."  

The biggest change came with freshman Casey Lopes (New Bedford, MA) making her first ever appearance as a setter.  Lopes had appeared in all of the first nine matches of the season for the Eagles, but every time she had played as an outside hitter.  She finished the match with nine assists, and Fairbank seemed excited with her performance, adding, "Casey really stepped up for us tonight.  It was a tough spot for her but she did well, and showed she can definitely handle the job."

The Bobcats would come out on a roll early against the Eagles, as their offense put away 12 kills in the first set.  Nicole Peraica, a left-handed middle hitter, tallied four kills in the first game, while Chandler McGrath pounded out three of her own to take a 1-0 advantage.

Bates was clinging to a tight 8-5 lead in the early-going of the second set, but a nine point Bobcat run put it out of reach and made it 2-0 for the match.  Bates had eight kills on 23 attacks with no errors in the set, good for a robust .348 hitting percentage.

Husson would keep things close in game three as well, as they trailed the Bobcats by just one point at 14-13.  Bates would then go on a five point run behind the hitting of Gabby O'Leary and Mary Deneen to gain a comfortable lead which they would not relinquish.    

O'Leary ended the match with 10 kills to lead Bates, while Deneen added nine kills and three aces.  Miranda Shapiro and Tess Walther split duties as the Bobcats' setter, with Shapiro totaling 19 assists and Walther having 12.  

Emma Plouffe (Frankfort, NY) led the Eagles' attack with four kills, while Lindsay Chapman (Gorham, ME) added three kills and 10 digs.  Libero Kara Graham (East Machias, ME) was solid again with 11 digs for the match.  

Bates improves to 4-1 on the season with the victory, while Husson slips to 3-7.  Despite the sub-.500 record, Fairbank remained upbeat after the match, saying, "We've played some really good teams, and I think it's better to figure things out and fix things now rather than when you get into conference play later.  We'll be OK."

Husson has three matches on their schedule for Saturday afternoon at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  The Eagles will play U-Maine Machias at noon, UMPI at 1:30, and Unity College at 3:30 as they look to get back towards the .500 mark.