Volleyball Falls to Top-Seeded Worcester State in MASCAC Semifinals

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Top-seeded Worcester State University Lancers posted a 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-17) win over the fifth seeded Bears of Bridgewater State University in the semifinal round of the 2017 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers improve to 25-8 on the season and will compete in the MASCAC Champipnship later this afternoon. The Bears end the season with an overall record of 8-22.

In the opening set, back-to-back kills from Bridgewater's Kayla Baril (Seekok, Mass.) to put the Bears ahead early. Worcester State's junior Allie Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) then achieved a season milestone, as she earned her 1,000th assist. The game saw ties at 3-3 and 4-4 before Bridgewater State pulled ahead on kills from Baril and Sarah Gibbons (Quincy, Mass.). The Bears held the lead until Nolan setup Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) for an 8-8 tie score. From then on, Worcester State held a slim lead and extended it to six with Lauren Murphy (Taunton, Mass.) and Katrina Kangwijaya (Dunstable, Mass.) at the service. The Lancers closed out the set with consecutive kills from Murphy for the 25-17 win.

Worcester State tallied four quick points in the second set on kills from Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) and Stephanie Chapin (Hampden, Mass.) before Bridgewater scored a point on a Worcester attack error. The Lancers then went on a 9-0 run with Kangwijaya at the service to push ahead by 12. The Blue and Gold maintained their lead and cruised to the 25-10 victory.

The Lancers used their momentum from the first two sets to get a quick lead in the third set and force the Bears a timeout, with a 7-2 score. The Bears closed the gap to three, however, Worcester State pulled away with four consecutive points to force another timeout (17-10). The Lancers kept the lead and ended the game with a bad set from Bridgewater.

King notched a double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs with two assists in the win. Carens also reached double figures in the kills category as she posted a game-high 13 with another game-high .480 hitting percentage. Nolan tallied 39 assists in the win.

On the defensive end for the Lancers, King led with the 15 digs, while libero Megan Leavens (Storrs, Conn.) dug up 10 balls. Worcester State also saw great effort on defense from Murphy, Kangwijaya, and Katie Gagnon (Hampden, Mass.) who had 9-9-8 digs, respectively.

Bridgewater State's attack was led by Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) who posted a team-high seven kills and a team-best .467 hitting percentage. Elizabeth Roberts (Swansea, Mass.) and Gibbons notched six kills each. Elexi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) helped the attack with 24 assists. Cassidy Tyros (Chelmsford, Mass.) logged a game-high 18 digs.

Worcester State held a 44-30 advantage in kills. The Lancers also notched a .276 hitting percentage, while Bridgewater stood at .142.