Volleyball Downs Worcester State, 3-1, to Advance to MASCAC Tournament Semfinals

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Fourth-seeded Bridgewater State University posted a 3-1 victory over #5 seed Worcester State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears (11-19), who won by set scores of 25-15, 25-22, 26-28 and 25-16, advance to the tournament semifinal round and will take on Framingham State University on Saturday at 11:00 AM. The top-seeded Rams are hosting both semifinal round matches as well as the championship match on Saturday. The visiting Lancers end the season with an overall record of 11-20.

Senior setter Charleyne Panner (Gilford, N.H.) paced the host Bears with 40 assists, eight kills and ten digs. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Clifford (Hanson, Mass.) led all player with 15 kills and three blocks (two solo) while posting a .361 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Clara Goncalves (Dennis, Mass.) checked in with 12 kills and a .355 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I.) contributed 12 kills, a pair of aces and ten digs.

Senior middle blocker Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) notched 13 kills to lead Worcester State, while sophomore outside hitter Caleigh Davis (Acushnet, Mass.) added 12 kills. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Powers (Hopkinton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 kills and two aces, while sophomore outside hitter Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) tallied ten kills and eight digs, and sophomore setter Alexandra Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) dished out 36 assists.

Bridgewater cruised to a 25-15 win in the opening set. With the Bears leading 23-15, a tandem block by Panner and Clifford followed by a Clifford kill capped off the scoring. Clifford and Panner finished with four kills apiece in the opening set.

The Lancers rallied from an 11-5 deficit in the second set to make it close. With the score knotted at 18-18, back-to-back kills from Maymon and Panner gave the Bears the lead for good. Clifford accounted for three of the last four points of the match, all kills, to give the Bears the 25-22 win. Clifford and Maymon notched six kills apiece in the set, while Panner added four.

The Bears seemed on the verge of a sweep with a 21-17 lead in the third set following back-to-back kills from Maymon and freshman middle blocker Sarah Gibbons (Quincy, Mass.). But the Lancers responded with back-to-back kills of their own by Powers and Davis to make it a two-point set. Down 24-23, kills by Davis and Carens sandwiched around a Lancer error, tied the score at 25-25. Following an exchange of successful attacks, Worcester received consecutive kills from Hoyle and Davis to win the set. Davis finished with eight kills in the set to pace the Lancers.

Bridgewater jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the fourth set before the Lancers reeled off seven straight points to cut the deficit to 13-12 and force a BSU timeout. Out of the timeout, Goncalves answered with a kill to stop the moment. Moments later a solo block by sophomore right side hitter Colleen Longley (North Granby, Conn.) gave the Bears a 15-13 lead. An ace by senior defensive specialist Samantha Fasoli (Sagamore Beach, Mass.), a pair of kills by Maymon, two Worcester attacking errors and a solo block by Gibbons helped the Bears pull away for the 25-16 win in the set and the 3-1 victory for the match.