Volleyball Falls to MCLA in Regular Season Finals, 3-0

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The MCLA volleyball team swept visiting Bridgewater State University, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Amsler Campus Center. The Trailblazers won by set scores of 25-18, 25-19 and 25-10. The match marked the regular season finale for both teams.

The Trailblazers improve to 15-7 on the season and 5-2 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play. MCLA is seeded third in next week's MASCAC Tournament and will host quarterfinall round match with #6 Fitchburg State University on Tuesday evening at six o'clock. Bridgewater is seeded fifth and will travel to #4 Worcester State University on Tuesday night to take on the Lancers at seven.

After coming away with a 25-18 opening set win, the Trailblazers jumped out to a 21-11 lead in the second set. An 8-2 BSU cut the deficit to 23-19, but a Chloie Garber (So., Eagle River, Alaska) ace at set point gave the Trailblazers a 25-19 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. MCLA would use a 16-2 run to take the third set, 25-10, and complete the sweep.

Senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) notched six kills to lead the way for Bridgewater State, while freshman outside hitter Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) and Rachel Sebastian-Asbed (St. Louis, Mo.) added five kills apiece. Junior libero Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) added 11 digs and senior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) contributed 14 assists. Junior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) led all players with four aces.

For home team it was Garber with 11 kills and nine digs, sophomore libero Ellie Walter-Goodspeed (Auburn, Wash.) with 15 digs and freshman setter Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, Conn.) with 28 assists leading the Trailblazers to victory.

MCLA finished with 35 kills and a .233 hitting percentage to go along with eight aces and just three serving errors. The Trailblazer defense limited the Bears to a -.010 hitting percentage and six aces.