Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches at Westfield Tri-Match

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University volleyball team lost a pair of matches at tri-match hosted by Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe Westfield State University on Saturday. The Bears dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Owls, as well as a 3-0 decision against Elms College.

In the final match of the day, Elms completed the sweep with a 3-0 win over Westfield.

The Bears fall to 6-8 on the season and 3-2 MASCAC, while the Owls move to 5-17 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The Blazers improve to 14-6 with the pair of wins.

Match One: Westfield State 3, Bridgewater State 2 (18-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-12)

Westfield State dropped the first two sets in the opener, before rallying for the five-set win.

Senior middle hitter Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) led the way for the Owls with a match-high 15 kills to go along with ten digs and three blocks (one solo). Sophomore outside hitter Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) added 13 kills, four aces and nine digs for the hosts, while senior outside hitter Shawna Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with 11 kills, one assist, an ace, seven digs and a pair of assisted blocks. Sophomore setter Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) dished out a match-best 42 assists and also contributed three kills, four aces and ten digs. Senior libero Jess Haradon (Mansfield, Mass.) rounded out the Westfield stat leaders with 29 digs, three assists and an ace.

Senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mas.) and sophomore middle hitter Amber Arruda (Swansea, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 14 kills apiece in the loss to Westfield. Whalen also added five assisted block and Arruda notched a pair of assisted blocks. Junior libero Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) checked in with a match-best 31 digs as well as four assists and an ace, while junior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) tallied 25 assists to go along with an ace and eight digs. Sophomore setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) added 20 assists and three aces for the Bears who also received 11 kills from sophomore outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.).

Match Two: Elms 3, Bridgewater State 0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-16)

Elms came away with the 3-0 victory in the second match of the day as the Blazers won by set scores of 25-17, 28-26 and 25-16.

Senior right side hitter Alanys Cruz Diaz (Humacao, P.R.) paced Elms with a match-best 13 kills and five aces to go along with a solo block and two assists. Junior outside hitter Natalia Caraballo Rivera (Fajardo, P.R.) added 11 kills, four aces and one solo block for the Blazers, while senior libero Kianna Lozada (Bayamon, P.R.) led all players with 18 digs and senior setter Govanna Rosado (Humacao, P.R.) dished out a match-high 35 assists.

Senior middle hitter Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State with 11 kills and a match-best .550 hitting percentage as well as two assisted blocks. Quintal checked in with 17 assists, three aces and seven digs, while Votta tallied 11 assists, one kill and five digs. Whalen produced eight kills and a pair of assisted blocks in the setback.

Elms posted a .348 hitting percentage for the match and recorded 15 aces (nine serving errors) and five blocks. Bridgewater finished with a .247 hitting percentage, four aces (five serving errors) and three blocks.

Match Three: Elms 3, Westfield State 0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-15)

Elms kept the momentum rolling in the final game of the day with a decisive 3-0 victory over the hosts.

Diaz posted another double-digit kill total (10) and senior outside hitter Sabrina Christie (Agawam, Mass.) added nine kills, two digs and three assisted blocks for the Blazers. Lozada and Rosada matched game-high digs with 12. Rosado coordinated the offense with 28 assists. The Blazers continued their dominance on the service line adding another 13 aces, finishing the day with 28 in six sets.

Sophomore Kerry Greenough (Charlton, Mass.) got the start at setter for the Owls and dished out 12 assists. Freshman defensive specialist Madi Hurlburt (Dalton, Mass.) led the Owls with 11 digs. Ashley Crowley and freshman middle blocker Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) each had three solo blocks at the net in the setback.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both Bridgewater State and Westfield State next Wednesday. The Bears travel o Framingham State University for a six o'clock match with the Rams, while the Owls entertain the Trailblazers of MCLA at seven. The Blazers head to Norwich University also on Wednesday to take on the Cadets in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match at six o'clock.