Volleyball Sweeps Fitchburg State, 3-0

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University volleyball team posted a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-23, 25-11) over Fitchburg State University on Tuesday evening in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) match at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Bears improve to 3-9 on the season and 1-3 in the MASCAC while the Falcons fall to 7-10 overall and 1-3 in conference play. Bridgewater has won 16 straight matches against the Falcons and hold a 21-3 lead in the all-time series.

The Bears notched 22 aces on the evening led by a career-high 11 from freshman libero Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.). Misay also added nine digs. BSU senior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) dished out a match-best 25 assists and recorded three aces while sophomore outside hitter Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) tallied four kills, two aces and a match-high ten digs. Freshman middle hitter Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) and junior middle hitter Rachel Sebastian-Asbed (St. Louis, Mo.) paced the BSU attack with eight and seven kills, respectively, with Welch posting a match-best .417 hitting percentage. Sophomore right side Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) checked in with six kills, two aces, nine digs and an assisted block while senior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) contributed four kills, three aces, five digs and two assisted blocks.

Misay notched six of her 11 aces in the opening set, while Coutu tallied four kills and a pair of aces and Sebastian-Asbed recorded three kills. Trailing 2-1 early in the set, the Bears strung together a 9-0 run, highlighted by six aces from Misay, to take control of the set.

The second set was closely contested. Trailing 21-20, the Bears reeled off four straight points on a pair of Fitchburg attacking errors, a kill by Welch and a Reardon ace to take a 24-21 lead. After the Falcons closed to within one, Bridgewater would capitalize on a Fitchburg attacking error to claim the 25-23 win. Misay recorded four more aces in the set while Welch tallied three kills.

Bridgewater completed the sweep with a decisive 25-11 victory in the third set. The Bears recorded eight more aces in the set including three from Votta. Welch led the BSU attack in the final game with five kills while Sebastian-Asbed contributed three.

Sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Sardella (Billerica, Mass.) paced Fitchburg State with six kills, five digs and an assisted block. Senior setter Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.) handed out 11 assists and added two kills and an ace.

The Bears travel to MASCAC rival Westfield State University on Saturday morning for an 11 o'clock tri-match. Bridgewater takes on the host Owls at 11 and Bay Path College at one o'clock.