By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the first time in his career, Tony daSilveira of Bridgewater State University is the BSN Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball Coach of the Year.

The Bears, who were picked to finish fifth in the MASCAC preseason poll, won the conference tournament championship after finishing second in the regular season.

Sophomore hitter Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) was the lone BSU representative on the all-conference team, earning a spot on the seven-player first team.

The Bears (13-9) went 6-1 in the MASCAC regular season, one game behind Westfield State University. They defeated the Owls, 3-2, for the tourney title last Saturday.

daSilveira was hired as the BSU head coach in 2019 after being an assistant on the Bears' staff for one season. He is the program's first MASCAC Coach of the Year since Ken Duarte earned the honor in 2003.

A four-year player at Greater New Bedford Vocational before graduating in 2004, daSilveira was on the coaching staff at his alma mater before joining the Bears.

BSU was 5-2 in the MASCAC, finishing third in daSilveira's first season. After COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020 season, the Bears were 3-4, 3-4 and 2-5 the past three years in the MASCAC.

BSU had a four-win turnaround in the conference this season under daSilveira, defeating four opponents by 3-0 scores.

The Bears opened the tourney with a 3-0 win over Framingham State, then rallied past Westfield State. The Owls had a 2-0 lead over BSU and opened the third set with a 5-0 lead before the Bears turned things around for a 3-2 win.

This marks the first time BSU has finished second in the regular season since going 5-1 in 2012, winding up a game behind Framingham State. In the previous 11 years, BSU had finished below third place eight times.

The Bears have nine more wins overall this season after going 4-13 in 2023.

BSU is in the NCAA Division III tourney for the first time since 2008. The Bears play third-ranked Johns Hopkins University (29-2) Thursday at 7 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.

Welch is on the All-MASCAC team for the first time in her career.

A Patriot League Keenan Division most valuable player for Whitman-Hanson Regional High, Welch joined the Bears in 2023.

She is first on the team in kills (201), kills per set (2.59) and hitting percentage (.247), second in blocks (51) and block assists (39) and third in digs (244).

Welch is sixth in the MASCAC in kills per set, eighth in kills and 14th in digs per set (3.09).

As a freshman, Welch was second on the team in kills (116), kills per set (2.0) and blocks (25) and contributed 56 digs.

Framingham State sophomore middle blocker Natalie Reynolds (Beverly, Mass.) is the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year.

The Defensive Player of the Year is Mass. College of Liberal Arts senior libero Ezmeralda Albright (Loves Park, Ill.) and Westfield State freshman outside hitter Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) is the Rookie of the Year.