Volleyball Falls to Emerson, 3-0

BOSTON, Mass. -- The visiting Bridgewater State University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-10) decision to Emerson College on Thursday evening at Brown Plofker Gymnasium.

The host Lions improve to 17-10, while the Bears fall to 10-18. Bridgewater is just 3-10 over the last 13 matches.

Freshman Bella Edwards (Palisades, Calif.) paced Emerson with 16 kills and classmate Amanda Linzmeyer (Huntington Beach, Calif.) followed Edwards with 10. Senior Jules Augustine (Skaneateles, N.Y.) and sophomore Kelley Guerra (Randolph, N.J.) added eight kills apiece.

Augustine became the Lions' all-time kills leader with her eight successful attacks.

Junior Sam Harton (Cartersville, Ga.) registered a team-high three aces and 10 digs, while sophomore Moira Brennan (Glenview, Ill.) had a match-high 45 assists. Guerra and Augustine led the Emerson defense with three blocks each.

For the Bears, sophomore Erin Clifford (Hanson, Mass.) posted a team-high 10 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while senior Charleyne Panner (Gilford, N.H.) tallied a team-best 24 assists to go along with three kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Cassidy Tyros (Chelmsford, Mass.) added 14 digs and senior Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I.) contributed four kills, seven digs and an ace.

Emerson jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set before Bridgewater State started to creep back and stay within no more than two points before a service ace from Harton gave the Lions some breathing room at 13-9. After Bridgewater State committed an attacking error, Emerson bumped their lead up to five at 17-12. Trailing 22-19 later in the set, the Bears rallied for three straight points on an Elizabeth Roberts (Swansea, Mass.) kill and back-to-back attacking errors to square the match at 22-all. The Lions, however, tallied three of the final four points and captured the 25-23 win on Augustine's record setting kill.

After Bridgewater State grabbed the 4-2 lead to start off the second frame, Emerson fired back with four consecutive points to take the 6-4 advantage. The Bears trailed 13-8 later in the set following and ace by freshman Kayleen Bertrand (New Boston, N.H.). Bridgewater State came within one of Emerson at 15-14 following back-to-back kills by Panner and Clifford, only to see the Lions up their lead to five again at 20-15 on a kill by Edwards. Edwards then closed out the 25-20 second set with another kill.

Both the Lions and Bears stayed neck-and-neck throughout the beginning of the third frame, but it was the Lions who began to distance the score in their favor. After Bridgewater State came within three at 10-7, Emerson put the set and match well out of reach with a 13-1 run. Edwards tallied five kills during the run and eight in the set. Her final kill made it 24-10, and freshman Lily Marella's (Portland, Ore.) kill put the finishing touches on the match.

The Bears posted a .375 hitting percentage in the first set, but struggled on the attack over the final two sets with a .108 mark.

Emerson recorded seven aces in the match but also ten serving errors. The Lions finished with a .333 hitting percentage.

Both teams wrap up regular season play on Saturday afternoon at one. The Lions travel to Clark University, while the Bears entertain Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe MCLA.