By Jim Fenton

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team had not defeated Framingham State University in 14 years.

The Bears had dropped 19 consecutive regular-season and Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament matches to the Rams since a 3-0 home win at the BSU Halloween Quad on Oct. 30, 2010.

That long losing streak came to an end on Tuesday night when BSU blanked Framingham State, 3-0, for its first road win over the Rams since a 3-2 victory on Oct. 1, 2008.

It was the MASCAC season opener for both teams, and the Bears improved to 5-6 overall with their fourth consecutive win.

BSU is on its first four-game winning streak since Sept. 22-28, 2016.

The Bears defeated the Rams, 25-18, 26-24 and 25-18.

Graduate student Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) had 16 assists and two service aces for BSU. Votta now has 926 career assists.

Sophomore Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) added 10 digs and 10 kills while sophomore Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) chipped in with 10 digs and eight kills.

Sophomore Xin Ai Robinson (Evans Mills, N.Y.) had 14 assists while sophomore Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) added 22 digs.

Junior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) had eight kills while junior Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) and freshman Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) added six kills each.

Framingham State (4-11) received 19 assists and 15 digs from junior Stella Bailey (Wrentham, Mass.) and 10 kills from sophomore Natalie Reynolds (Beverly, Mass.).

BSU fell behind, 5-2, in the first set before rallying to forge a 7-7 tie.

But the Rams opened a 13-8 lead, only to have the Bears tie it again at 14 thanks to six straight kills, two by Coutu.

There were three ties after that with Framingham State moving in front, 17-16, before the Bears scored eight points in a row as they took advantage of five attacking errors.

A kill by Crane put the Bears up, 24-17, and a service error finished the set.

BSU again fell behind to start the second set, trailing, 5-1, before going up, 7-6. The Rams moved ahead, 16-10 and 19-14, but the Bears tied it at 21.

The set was even at 24 when kills by Welch and Sullivan gave BSU a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.

The third set was tied at 6-6 before the Bears took an 11-7 lead. The set was even at 12-12, 15-15 and 16-16 (the ninth tie of the set).

Framingham State was limited to two points the rest of the way, and four kills by Crane sent BSU on the way to its streak-ending victory over the Rams.

The Bears are idle until Wednesday, Oct. 9 when they host Lesley in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.

The Rams will be at Plymouth State on Friday at 3 p.m.