Volleyball Sweeps Past RIC, 3-0

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The visiting Bridgewater State University volleyball team swept Rhode Island College, 3-0, on Tuesday evening at The Murray Center. The Bears, who earned their first win over the Anchorwomen since 2004, won the tightly contested match by set scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-23.

Winners of five of their last six matches, the Bears improve to 6-3 on the season, while the Anchorwomen fall to 4-6. Bridgewater is now 9-8 versus RIC since 1994.

Freshman right side Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) paced Bridgewater State with 11 kills and a .421 hitting percentage, while senior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) checked in with nine assists and four aces, and junior libero Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) notched 14 digs and five assists. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with five kills, nine digs, a pair of aced and two assisted blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) added seven kills, three aces and two blocks (one solo) for the Bears, while junior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) tallied four kills, one ace and two assisted blocks, and freshman middle hitter Rachel Sebastian-Asbed (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded three kills and four blocks (one solo).

Senior outside hitter Amelia Murphy (North Attleboro, Mass.) led the Anchorwomen with 14 kills, three aces, eight digs and three assisted blocks. RIC also received five kills, a pair of aces and nine digs from sophomore outside hitter Rhiannon Hodovanec (Feeding Hills, Mass.), and four kills, three aces and two assisted blocks from sophomore middle hitter Megan Philbrick (Johnston, R.I.). Sophomore setter Natalie Reid (North Attleboro, Mass.) dished out 13 assists.

The Bears jumped out to a seven point lead (15-8) over RIC in set one. The Anchorwomen mounted a comeback attempt and pulled to within one, 22-21, following a BSU attacking error. Bridgewater capitalized on an RIC error and Quintal closed out the set with back-to-back aces.

Neither squad led by more than four points in a close second set. A Quintal ace gave the visitors a 23-19 advantage before the Anchorwomen rip off three straight points to cut the deficit to one. Out of a BSU timeout, a serving error and an attacking error gave the Bears a 25-22 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Anchorwomen jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set thanks in large part to three BSU attacking errors. Bridgewater answered with an 8-3 run with Brogioli recording three kills during the spurt. A back-and-forth battle ensued for the remainder of the set. A Quintal ace gave the Bears a 24-21 lead and set up match point, but a serving error and attacking error pulled RIC to within one at 24-23. Gowell then closed things out with a match-ending kill.

The Bears posted a .168 hitting percentage on the evening with ten aces and seven blocks. The Anchorwomen produced a .120 hitting percentage with ten aces and four blocks. The two teams combined for 17 serving errors with RIC committing ten.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday evening. The Bears travel to Worcester State University for a key MASCAC match with the Lancers. First serve is slated for seven o'clock. The Anchorwomen head to UMass Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs at six in a Little East Conference (LEC) affair.

Notes: Prior to today's match, Bridgewater's last win over the Anchormen came on September 24th of 2004 at the Tinsley Center, while the Bears last road win over RIC dates back to 1999.