Volleyball Splits Suffolk Tri-Match

By Jim Fenton

BOSTON, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team went 1-1 at a tri-match hosted by Suffolk University Saturday afternoon.

The Bears dropped the opener to Maine Maritime Academy, 3-0, then bounced back to defeat Suffolk, 3-0, at Smith Court.

BSU is 5-2 while Maine Maritime is 5-3 and Suffolk, which also lost to the Mariners, is 2-6.

The Bears host Fisher College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Tinsley Center.

Bridgewater State 3, Suffolk 0

Junior Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) had 12 digs and eight kills for the Bears while sophomore Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) added eight kills and five blocks.

Sophomore Natalie Fredriksen (Plymouth, Mass.) had 18 assists while junior Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) had 15 assists.

Junior Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass) had 13 digs and six kills, and junior Moriah Baptista (Dartmouth, Mass.) added 10 digs. Senior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) chipped in with seven digs to go along with seven kills.

Baptistra, Frederiksen and Sullivan notched two aces apiece.

For Suffolk, sophomore Kathy Mo (Quincy, Mass.) had 11 digs while junior Emily Norgrove (Guilderland, N.Y.) added six kills and three blocks.

In the first set, the Bears had a 4-2 lead after an ace by Fredriksen but the Rams opened a 10-6 edge with three attack errors and a service error pushing Suffolk in front.

BSU then scored six straight points after a timeout with five players contributing kills for a 12-10 lead.

Suffolk closed within 12-11, but Welch and senior Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) had kills to put BSU in front, 16-11.

After the Rams cut the deficit to 16-14, senior Alexis Starks (Milford, Mass.) and Gowell had kills to move BSU up, 21-16.

The Bears were ahead, 21-18, when Starks and Sullivan had kills and an attack error closed out the set.

In the second set, BSU scored the first two points before falling behind, 6-2. Suffolk took advantage of four attack errors and one service error.

The Bears were down, 15-13, then scored five points in a row with Welch and Starks contributing kills.

Two attack errors and two kills by Gowell were part of a run that gave BSU a 22-18 lead. Sullivan and Crane had kills when the Bears took a 24-19 lead.

After Suffolk scored three points in a row, the set ended on an attack error.

BSU fell behind, 6-2, in the third set before tying it at 7-7. Welch, Crane and Starks had kills.

After falling behind, 9-7, the Bears scored seven points in a row for a 14-9 lead. Starks had two kills and Baptista two aces.

Suffolk moved within 14-11 before BSU scored six of the next seven points for a 20-12 lead with Crane getting two kills.

A Sullivan ace made it 23-13 before Welch and Gowell finished the match with kills.

Maine Maritime 3, Bridgewater State 0

The Mariners defeated BSU, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-18 in the first meeting between the two pograms since 2017.

Robinson had 10 assists and four digs for the Bears while Fredriksen added seven assists, five digs and two aces.

Welch contributed eight kills and five digs while junior Crane had seven kills and five digs.

For Maine Maritime, senior Hunnie Zuber-Stephens (Lubbock, Texas) had 32 assists and junior Sydney WIlliams (Melbourne, Fla.) chipped in with 15 kills and nine digs.

Junior Ally Hadley (Hebron, Conn.) had 14 kills and seven digs while sophomore Hannah Tate (Spring Hill, Tenn.) registered 14 kills and seven digs.

In the opening set, it was 6-6 (the sixth tie) before BSU opened a 10-6 lead, getting kills from Crane and Starks.

A Welch kill gave the Bears a 13-9 lead and an ace by Fredriksen put BSU up, 15-12.

The Mariners scored six straight points for an 18-15 lead, getting two kills from senior Ila Smith (Lexington, Ky.).

A kill by Crane moved BSU within 20-19 and Welch had two kills to put the Bears down, 24-22. But a service error ended the set.

BSU jumped to a 4-2 lead in the second set, only to have the Mariners go on a 7-1 run. Freshman Ayla Altman (Washington, Pa.) had two service aces.

Two kills by Gowell put the Bears down, 14-13, but seven straight points by Maine Maritime put it in control at 21-13.

BSU was unable to get any closer than five the rest of the way.

In the final set, the Mariners moved to a quick 8-2 lead with Williams having three kills.

Two service aces by Altman helped Maine Maritime move in front, 14-7. An ace by Fredriksen had BSU within 21-15, but that was as close as the Bears would get.

Maine Maritime is idle until next Saturday when it hosts a tri-match with Vermonth State Lyndon at noon and Mount Saint Mary College of New YOrk at 4 p.m.