Volleyball Drops 3-2 Decision to Worcester State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The visiting Worcester State University volleyball team outlast Bridgewater State University, 3-2 () in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Lancers improve to 8-11 overall and 3-0 in the MASCAC while the Bears fall to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Worcester has won four straight matches versus the Bears and eight of the last nine.

After splitting the first four sets with Bridgewater winning games one (25-20) and four (25-19), and Worcester taking games two (25-20) and three (25-17), the match came down to the decisive fifth set.

The Lancers capitalized on three BSU errors to jump out to the early 3-0 lead in the fifth set. A kill by freshman middle hitter Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) got the Bears on the board, but Worcester answered with kills by sophomore right side Cassidy Esposito (Medford, N.Y.), graduate libero Camryn Burgio (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore middle hitter Kate Stedronsky (Sea Girl, N.J.) to climb ahead 6-1.Bridgewater would get no closer than four points the rest of the way. A 5-0 Lancer run highlighted by a pair of aces from freshman outside hitter Beatrice Gamboa-Estrella (Simi Valley, Calif.) and an Angela Colonis (Jr., Waterford, Conn.) kills gave the visitors a commanding 13-4 lead. An ace by senior middle hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) and back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) and Welch cut the BSU deficit to 14-8. Worcester middle blocker Maeve Cadogan (Wilmington, Mass.) ended all hopes of a Bridgewater comeback as she secured the decisive point with a match-ending kill.

Esposito notched 11 kills to pace the Worcester attack. Colonis and junior setter Megan Bardis (Rutland, Mass.) dished out 14 assists apiece, while Burgio checked in with a match-high 30 digs to go along with four aces. Gamboa-Estrella finished with six kills, four aces and 14 digs.

The Lancers recorded 20 assisted blocks led by five apiece from Cadogan and Stedronsky.

Brogioli (13 kills) and Welch (12 kills) paced the Bridgewater attack. Brogioli added 12 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) contributed 11 kills, three aces and 15 digs, while senior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) handed out a career-high 39 assists. Freshman libero Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) checked in with 19 digs and four aces for the Bears who also received eight kills, ten digs and four assisted blocks from Reardon.

Worcester posted a .155 hitting percentage with 11 aces while Bridgewater recorded a .105 hitting percentage with ten aces. The two teams combined for 21 serving errors (11 for the Lancers).

Both teams are back in action on Saturday. The Bears travel to WPI for a tri-match starting at 1:00 PM. Bridgewater will take on MIT at one o'clock and host WPI at three. The Lancers head to Dean College for a tri-match starting at 11:00 AM. Worcester will take on host Dean at 11 and Eastern Connecticut State University at one o'clock.