Volleyball Drops 3-1 Decision to MCLA on Senior Day

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting MCLA volleyball team posted a 3-1 victory (25-21, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22) over Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) match on Saturday evening at the Tinsley Center. The match marked the regular season finale for both teams.

With the win, the Trailblazers (11-11, 4-3 MASCAC) secured the #4 seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament. The Bears (6-10, 3-4 MASCAC) are seeded fifth and will travel to MCLA on Tuesday night (TBA) for a quarterfinal round match.

The two teams traded sets to open the match with MCLA winning the first 25-21 before the Bears took the second by the identical score.  MCLA would take command with a resounding 25-15 win in the third and then they would close out BSU by rallying for a 25-22 win in the fourth and final set.

Senior middle hitter Reagan Scattergood (Rhinebeck, N.Y.) paced the Trailblazers with a match-best 15 kills to go along with 11 digs, an ace and two assisted blocks. Freshman right side hitter Chloie Garber (Eagle River, Alaska) added ten kills, 11 digs and a match-high four aces, while grad setter Natasha Stewart (North Andover, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with a match-best 30 assists in addition to four kills, 13 digs, two aces and a pair of blocks (one solo).  Stewart is now just 11 digs shy of 1,000 for her career.

Senior middle hitter Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State with eight kills, including the 500th of her career, a .333 hitting percentage, four blocks (one solo), three aces and six digs. Senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) checked in with a team-high nine kills and a .389 hitting percentage to go along with a pair of assisted blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) added eight kills. Junior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) and sophomore setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) combined for 30 assists with Quintal also recording a pair of aces.

MCLA finished with a .194 hitting percentage, five blocks and 11 aces with just four serving errors. Bridgewater posted a .138 hitting percentage with seven blocks and ten aces. The Bears, however, committed 12 serving errors.

Prior to the start of the match the Bears held Senior Day festivities as Rice, Whalen and fellow seniors Camille Hanna (Milton, Vt.) and Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) were honored.