Volleyball Edges Worcester State, Falls to Coast Guard at Bear Classic

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Bridgewater State University volleyball team posted a 3-1 win over Worcester State University and suffered a 3-0 setback to host Coast Guard Academy during day two of the Coast Guard Bear Classic on Saturday.

The Bears finished 1-2 at the tournament as they even their 2013 record at 12-12.

In their first match of the day, the Bears won the first two sets against Worcester, 27-25 and 25-18, before dropping a 25-19 decision in set three.  Bridgewater clinched the victory with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.

Freshman Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I.) paced the Bears in the win over the Lancers as she notched a match-best 13 kills and a .393 hitting percentage as well as seven digs.  Senior Danielle Dean (Gilford, N.H.) contributed 18 digs, four aces and five kills, while freshman Charleyne Panner (Gilford, N.H.) tallied 22 assists and five digs.  Senior Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.) added 19 assists, three kills, 12 digs and an ace and sophomore Julie Hutchins (Bellingham, Mass.) recorded eight kills.

After dropping a 25-20 decision in the opening set against Coast Guard, the Bears were tied as late as 19-19 in set two and trailed 22-21 after back-to-back kills by Panner and Hutchins.  Coast Guard however, responded with kills from Ashley Dumont and Susan West to get to set point.  After a Maymon attack pulled the Bears to within 24-22, a Rebekah Muller kill won the set and gave Coast Guard a 2-0 lead.

In set three, the Bears had a late 22-21 lead after a kill by Dean and an attacking error by Coast Guard's Muller.  Muller, however, responded with a kill to tie the match up, and Michaela McKeown sandwiched a pair of aces around a Dean attacking error to win the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.

Dean finished with ten kills, ten digs and an ace in the loss to Coast Guard, while Panner notched 15 assists, 16 digs and three kills.  Appleman added 11 assists and four kills, and Maymon chipped in with nine kills and five digs.

Appleman now has 1,936 assists in four seasons at Bridgewater State as she is attempting to become just the fifth player in BSU volleyball history to reach the 2,000-assist milestone.

On Tuesday night, Bridgewater hosts Framingham State University in a key MASCAC match starting at six. The defending champion Rams are 3-0 in conference play while the Bears are 2-1.