Volleyball Sweeps MASCAC Opponent Salem State 3-0

BRIDGEWATER, Mass – The Bridgewater State University women's volleyball team swept visiting Salem State University 3-0 Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) match.

With the win the Bears improve to 5-3 overall and remain unbeaten, 2-0, in the MASCAC. The Vikings, now hold a 3-7 overall record, 1-1 in the MASCAC. The match saw set scores of 25-9, 25-13, and 25-19.

Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) led the Bears offensively registering 11 kills (.474 hit %), while also adding two blocks and one dig. Freshman Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) (.286 hit %) provided Bridgewater with eight kills, while Freshmen Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) (.375 hit %) added seven of her own. Senior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) dealt out 16 assists and three services aces, while also adding five digs and one kill. Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) registered ten digs for Bridgewater, along with three service aces and one kill.

Abigail O'Connor (Gilford, N.H.) paced the Vikings with a .300 hitting percentage on four kills. Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) and Gracie Dailey (Peabody, Mass.) each dealt three kills for the Vikings. Sophomore setter Eva Haralabatos (Melrose, Mass.) dished out eight assists throughout the match, while adding two service aces and two kills to the offense. Haralabatos saw eight digs on the day.

The Bears posted a strong 25-9 win in the first set. Bridgewater was paced by freshman outside hitter Brogioli, who tallied six kills in the set and one service ace. Quintal added two service aces of her own in the set. Graduate student Julia Cabral (Acushnet, Mass.) posted four digs.

Bridgewater State took the second set of the match by a score of 25-13. Whalen and Gowell both tallied three kills. Junior Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) led the Bears to a match best, nine-point run and provided the Bears with four service aces. The Vikings benefitted from nine Bears errors in the set. O'Connor recorded two kills for Salem State.  

The third set of the day proved to be the toughest, but the Bears prevailed to capture the 25-19 set win. Junior libero Caiano led Bridgewater on a seven-point streak. Whalen filled the stat sheet with five kills and one block. The third set saw eight service aces, four from each team. Salem State freshman outside hitter Shairs led the Vikings with two blocks, two kills, and three services aces.

Bridgewater posted a .303 hitting percentage on the day, with a total of 13 service aces.

Coming up next, Bridgewater State will travel to Rhode Island College on Monday September 26th for a 6:00 PM non-conference match. Salem State will host Westfield State on Wednesday September 28th in a 7:00 PM MASCAC contest.