BIDDEFORD — The Colby College Mules won 3-0 in three tight games over The University of New England in a non-conference volleyball match on Thursday, but it wasn’t without a fight. All three set wins were of a two-point margin at, 25-23, 25-23 and 26-24.

“We struggled a little bit tonight. We struggled on the defensive end, which led to our passes not getting to where we wanted them to go,” said UNE coach Karol L’Heureux.

Paige Curran and Jill Goldstein had 22 combined kills for the Nor’easter attack. Maria Kuehl had 32 assists and 17 digs against the Mules.

“Maria Kuehl was incredible tonight. She was all over the floor, and I don’t know how many digs she had tonight, but she still tried to make big hits up front,” said L’Heureux.

The first set started with both teams trading shots and getting points. Colby slowly started pulling away, when they picked up a couple points on serves and didn’t allow UNE to rally. The gap got larger when Colby scored four straight points to bring the score to 20-13. UNE didn’t give up, however, as they fought back to tie the game at 22-22. The tandem of Goldstein and Kuehl was instrumental in the comeback as Kuehl set Goldstein for two kills. After a back-and-forth battle, Colby pulled out the win in set one, 25-23.

The second set featured both teams going on streaks to gain points. Colby opened up the set by scoring four straight. UNE went on a run of its own, taking over the lead at 8-7. UNE took the lead on another kill from Goldstein that was set by Kuehl. The teams traded points until it came down to crunch time. UNE had a two-point lead at 23-21 until Colby ran the table with five straight points to win 25-23. Natalie Roy of Colby was key, as she slammed home two of the five points, both assisted from Kate Pleasants.

“We had little problems like closing down our blocks and double blocks on the outside. They were quick with the set, and we were a little slow in not leaving that gap between our outside and middle,” said L’Heureux.

In the third set, the score bounced back and forth, then UNE took control of the game at 5-6. They ran six straight points to lead Colby 10-6. To start the run, Goldstein displayed soft touch, as she redirected the ball to an open area on the court. The Nor’easters remained in the lead through 23 points, but sputtered from there. Colby won seven of the last eight points to win the set, and match, 26-24. Natalie Roy had the kill to end the set as she did in the first two.

“All around defensively we need to tighten up,” said L’Heureux. “It starts with setting up correctly for blocking so the back can get set up.”

UNE (13-7, 5-2 CCC) currently sits in the third spot in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings with one conference game remaining. The next CCC game for the Nor’easters is on Saturday at home against Salve Regina. That matchup is important because currently Salve Regina sits behind UNE in fourth place at 4-2 in conference play.

“We need to beat (Salve Regina) to solidify home court advantage on the following Tuesday,” said L’Heureux.

—Contact Nate Fowler at 282-1535, Ext. 323.