FRANKLIN, Mass.- The Dean College Bulldogs lost in a tightly contested affair to Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday, falling 3-0 at Pieri Gym.  The Bulldogs lost 25-14, 25-17, and 25-19 narrowing the gap in each set but never quite overcoming the Lions.

Dean was led by Moussa Seck, who had 4 kills.  Dean Bennett added 3 kills and Gabriel McClain had 2 kills and 8 assists.  Pepe Vieira and Justin Freitas led Dean with 8 and 6 digs, respectively.

Derek Fowler led Eastern Nazarene with 8 kills.  Andrew Shaw had 19 assists and Kenny Sorensen had 7 kills and 9 digs. 

The Lions started the first set on fire, racing out to an 8-0 lead out of the gate.  After a timeout, Dean responsed with 5 of the next 8 points to cut the lead to 11-5.  A kill by Colin Fischer stretched the Lions lead to 16-7 and they were able to hold on for the 25-14 win.

Dean took an early lead in the first set, jumping up 6-3 early on.  Eastern Nazarene scored 12 of the next 14 points to take a 15-8 lead on an attack error from Dean's Freitas.  Trailing 20-12 late in the set, the Bulldogs responsed with a 5 point run, closing the gap to 3 and putting the pressure on.  The Lions came back with 5-0 run of their own to finish off the set and give them a 2-0 lead on the day.

The final set was close throughout.  Early back and forth action gave Dean a 10-9 lead before Eastern Nazarene created some distance with a 4 point run capped by a kill from James Garofalo.  Moments later, another kill from Fowler stretched the lead to 19-12.  Dean scored 3 straight to cut the lead to 4, but could get no closer.  They eventually fell 25-19, for the third set of the match.

Dean drops to 2-17 on the year while the Lions improve to 8-7.  Dean next plays Thursday at Pine Manor at 7:00.

Eastern Nazarene hosts Endicott on Saturday at 1:00 PM.