By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- At this time a year ago, the two of them were nowhere near the Bridgewater State University campus.

Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) was a freshman at the University of South Carolina and Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) was in her senior year at Barnstable High School.

One year later, Crane and Sullivan are together in their first seasons on the BSU volleyball team, and they have made immediate impacts.

Crane, a sophomore majoring in health science, is an outside hitter who is second in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference in service aces with 32, lead's BSU with 147 digs and is second on the team with 247 receptions.

Sullivan, a freshman early education major, is second in the MASCAC with a .260 hitting percentage and is first on the team with 28 blocks and fourth with 64 kills.

The newcomers to the roster have helped BSU (7-6, 2-0) put together a six-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night's match at Worcester State University.

"They are both locked in and two very dedicated players who are great to have on the court," said Bears coach Tony daSilveira. "They came in and there was a consistency about them. Both of their volleyball IQs are very high."

Crane has been the MASCAC rookie of the week twice and Sullivan earned the honor once.

For Crane, she is grateful to be playing the sport again for the first since the 2022 season at Dartmouth High School.

After graduating in 2023, Crane enrolled at South Carolina where she did not play any volleyball. Crane missed home as well as volleyball, so after one year at South Carolina, she transferred to BSU.

"I was feeling homesick and missed the sport," said Crane. "I thought if I was transferring back home, I might as well get back into what I love. I'm very glad that I did. We're having a lot of fun. I'm glad I transferred back here and am playing again."

Sullivan looked at no other college other than Bridgewater State.

She heard a lot about the school from friends on Cape Cod who played volleyball for the Bears or attended BSU in the past.

"I've known since freshman year that I wanted to go to Bridgewater," said Sullivan. "This is really the only school I looked at."

While Crane did not play last season, Sullivan was part of a Barnstable High team that reached the state Division 1 championship game, losing to Newton North, 3-2, last November.

"Playing at Barnstable really helped," said Sullivan of the program that owns 18 state titles. "I had great coaches in my high school career. They pushed us to success."

BSU was coming off a 4-13 season with only two MASCAC wins, so preseason camp was a time when jobs were up for grabs.

Crane and Sullivan made the most of the opportunity, impressing the coaching staff and earning starting assignments.

Crane had to shake off some rust after not playing since the fall season of '22, but she got back into volleyball over the summer.

"I had no idea what the plan was," said Crane of her first season at BSU. "Obviously (starting is) the goal for everyone but I was going to be happy with any position, whether it was on the court or being on the bench cheering the girls on.

"I had no idea walking into it. I was going to put my best out on the court and see what happened. The first couple of practices, you could tell I didn't play for a while. The more work I put in and the girls supported me, it was easier to keep my confidence up and play to my ability."

Sullivan worked with coaches on Cape Cod and went to a personal trainer throughout the summer to get ready for college volleyball.

"I didn't expect anything at all coming in," said Sullivan. "I went with the flow and if I didn't play, I'd be on the bench and support everyone else.

"I had a lot of good coaches who helped me over the summer and personal trainers who helped me. It was a big adjustment coming from high school, but the players on the team really helped me and supported me through everything."

The Bears have a young team with just one senior and one graduate student on the roster, so having players like Crane and Sullivan with several seasons to go helps make the future look bright.

"It's a great feeling to know they're great people and will be here to help us hopefully do well in the win-loss column but they're good role models, too," said daSilveira, who coached Crane in club volleyball. "They'll be able to say (to recruits), 'This is what we're about, this is how we treat each other.'

"They're two great examples of what we're looking for in athletes on and off the court.

"Ava is always happy. You never see her mad. She's able to shake off a play. A bad play happens and she can lock in and fix that. She knows what to do. Charlotte is confident. She's an extremely hard worker. She really wants to help the team."

Crane, who wants to be a nutritionist or dietician, began playing volleyball as an eighth-grader and followed in the footsteps of older sister Sophie, who played on season at Stonehill College.

"Not being able to play last year was definitely tough,'' she said. "Coming here, I love the environment and the energy. Everyone on the team is super welcoming and nice. I've already met some of my best friends. Coming into volleyball, they're all supportive and I'm lucky to be surrounded by them."

Sullivan wants the winning to continue as the Bears are on their longest streak since 2015.

"It's been great," she said. "I'm glad we all work together well and get the job done."