Volleyball Celebrates Senior Day with 3-0 MASCAC Win over Mass. Maritime

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team celebrated Senior Day with a 3-0 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday at the Tinsley Center. The match marked the regular season finale for both teams.

The Bears improve to 4-12 on the season and 2-5 in the MASCAC while the Buccaneers fall to 4-21 overall and 0-7 in conference play. Bridgewater State is unbeaten against the Buccaneers as the Bears hold a 40-0 lead in the all-time series which dates back to 1993.

With the win, Bridgewater earned a spot in next week's MASCAC Tournament. The Bears are the #5 seed and will travel to Framingham State University to take on the fourth-seeded Rams on Tuesday night at 7:15 PM.

Prior to the start of the match, the Bears honored senior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) and senior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.).

Sophomore right side Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) paced Bridgewater State with a match-high 14 kills to go along with eight digs and an ace. Reardon added ten kills, an impressive .714 hitting percentage and two blocks (one solo) while freshman middle hitter Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) contributed nine kills, five digs, two assisted blocks and an ace. Votta dished out a match-best 36 assists in addition to nine digs, a kill, an ace and an assisted block. Freshman libero Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) and freshman defensive specialist Alexandra Dunn (Pembroke, Mass.) led the Bears' defensive effort with 12 digs apiece.

The Bears used a 7-0 run to rally from a 16-12 deficit and take the first set, 25-18. Bridgewater scored 13 of the final 15 points including the last five of the set. Reardon tallied five kills in the opening game while Welch contributed three. The Bears posted a .226 hitting percentage in the opener.

Bridgewater pulled away for a 25-14 win in the second set. The Bears clung to a 15-14 lead before closing out the set with a 10-0 run. Coutu notched six kills in the frame and the hosts registered a .281 hitting percentage.

Bridgewater completed the sweep with a 25-12 decision in the third set. The Bears amassed 18 kills in the frame and posted a .500 hitting percentage led by six kills from Coutu and five from Welch.

Freshman right side Gemma Geisler (Duxbury, Mass.) led the way for Mass. Maritime with nine kills, eight digs and two aces. Sophomore setter Shayla Narodowg (Wellington, Colo.) contributed 13 assists, a kill and five digs while junior defensive specialist Audrey Manning (Hanover, Mass.) tallied a match-high 15 digs.

The Bears finished with 41 kills and a .333 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Bridgewater also recorded five aces and five blocks.

Maritime was limited to 20 kills and a -.048 hitting percentage with. The Buccaneers notched six aces.