Volleyball Captures Tenth Straight MASCAC Tournament Title

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College volleyball team captured the program's tenth consecutive MASCAC Tournament title as the Bears downed Westfield State College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-23), in the tournament championship game on Saturday, November 8^th at the Tinsley Center.

With the championship victory, Bridgewater (12-23) earns a bid the NCAA Division III Tournament that begins on November 13th.  Along with the ten straight MASCAC Tournament championships, this also marks the Bears' tenth straight trip to the national tournament.

Westfield finishes the season with a record of 13-17. The Owls were the tournament's No. 2 seed as they shared the MASCAC regular season championship along with Bridgewater.

Sophomore Julie Clerc (Acushnet, MA), the MASCAC Player of the Year, paced the Bears with 13 kills and pair of blocks in the championship game victory. Junior outside hitter Alyssa Grimes (Acushnet, MA) added 11 kills and two blocks, while sophomore setter Natalie Cohen (Marston Mills) tallied 28 assists and junior libero Brianne Cobb (New Bedford, MA) finished with 13 digs.

Junior outside hitter Stephanie Bartkus (North Merrick, NY) led Westfield with seven kills in the final, while freshman setter Kerin DiGirolamo (North Attleboro, MA) added 16 assists.

Bridgewater advanced to the title game with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-22) semifinal victory over No. 4 seed Worcester State in Saturday's first match. Grimes, Clerc and sophomore middle hitter Shelby Burghardt (Marshfield, MA) each notched 10 kills in the win, while Cohen contributed 32 assists and Cobb added 18 digs.  Freshman outside hitter Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) chipped in with seven kills and five blocks.

In the other semifinal match, Westfield bested Framingham State, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-13) behind freshman outside hitter Alex Wahl's (East Falmouth, MA) 16 kills. DiGirolamo finished with 29 assists and Bartkus tallied four aces in the win over the Rams, while junior libero Katie Kurty (Ludlow, MA) notched 26 digs.