Volleyball Sweeps MCLA, 3-0

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team has clinched the top seed in next week's Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

With a 3-0 victory over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Monday night at the Tinsley Center, the Bears assured themselves of at least a share of the regular-season championship and the top seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament.

A win over Fitchburg State University on Saturday would cap off a perfect MASCAC regular season and give BSU the title outright.

The last time the Bears won a share of the conference title was 2008 when they tied with Westfield State University. The last time that BSU won the championship outright was 2006, the 12th straight title for the Bears.

Heading into the last game of the MASCAC season, the Bears (13-4 overall) are first at 7-0 followed by Westfield State at 6-1. The Owls finish at Worcester State on Saturday.

BSU defeated Westfield State, 3-2, on Sept. 27 and owns the tiebreaker. The Bears defeated the Owls in the 2024 MASCAC tourney championship game.

For the seventh time this season, BSU won by a 3-0 score, sweeping past the Trailblazers, 25-10, 25-15 and 25-14.

BSU has won seven of its last eight matches and three straight.

MCLA is 15-8 and finishes the MASCAC schedule with a 5-3 mark.

Bridgewater held a decided edge in play as the Bears posted a .419 hitting percentage and finished with 17 aces and six blocks. Defensively, the Bears limited the Trailblazers to a .015 hitting percentage and just two aces. The two teams combined for 24 serving errors. 

BSU junior Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) had 11 digs and a match-best 10 kills to go along with a pair of aces and three assisted digs in the win while junior Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) contributed 11 digs, seven kills and three aces.

Junior Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) dished out 19 assists and recorded four service aces, and sophomore Natalie Fredriksen (Plymouth, Mass.) contributed four aces and four assists.

Senior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) chipped in with five kills while sophomore Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) added five kills, two aces and three assisted blocks.

Senior Elizabeth Brown (Lee, Mass.) paced MCLA with five kills and six digs while freshman Kaelynn Greeley (Corona, Calif.) notched four kills. Senior Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, Conn.) and junior Beth Harris (San Antonio, Texas) combined for 11 assists with Harris adding six digs.

After coasting to a win in the first set, BSU jumped to a 6-0 lead in the second set.

Robinson had three quick aces and Sullivan added a pair of kills.

The lead was 8-1 after a kill by senior Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) and a Crane ace.

After the Trailblazers moved within 10-5, the Bears scored three straight points, including a Gowell kill and an ace by Welch.

BSU scored three consecutive points again to go up, 17-8, two of them on kills by Crane.

MCLA was no closer than eight the rest of the way, and a Couto kill finished the set.

The third set was even at 4-4 on a kill by MCLA junior Caroline Schmaling (Halifax, Mass.).

The Bears scored the next six points, helped by three attack errors and three aces by Fredriksen.

The lead was 12-5 after a kill by Gowell and a Welch ace before the Trailblazers pulled within 13-9.

But BSU ripped off the next seven points to take command at 20-9.

There was a service error and an attack error, two kills by Crane and one each by Sullivan and Coutu plus an ace by Robinson.

An attack error and service error finished off the set and match.

The 13 wins by the Bears equals last season's total. The last time BSU won at least 14 matches was 2014 when they had 18 victories.

BSU will host Mitchell College in its final non-conference match on Senior Night Thursday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Fitchburg.

MCLA will host Norwich on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and take part in the MASCAC tourney next week.