By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team halted a six-game losing streak on Wednesday night.

The Bears swept past Nichols College, 3-0, at the Tinsley Center for their first victory since opening day.

BSU improved to 2-6 while Nichols, a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, fell to 1-5. The teams were meeting for the first time since a 3-2 BSU win in 2021.

The Bears won by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 27-25, rallying to win the third and decisive set.

Sophomore Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) paced the Bears with eight kills, 15 digs and a team-best four aces

Freshman Natalie Fredriksen (Plymouth, Mass.) added 14 assists, seven digs and two aced for BSU while sophomore Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) contributed 14 digs, seven kills and an ace, and sophomore Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) checked in with 14 digs, four assists and a pair of aces.

The Bears also received six kills form Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) and five kills and a pair off assisted blocks from junior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.).

Nichols received 12 digs and eight kills from senior Luna Colozzo (Winchester, Mass.) while senior Ruby St. Onge (Coventry, Conn.) had 12 assists and five digs.

The Bears trailed, 21-29, in the first set before closing out the with five straight points including kills by Welch, Crane and freshman Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) to go along with a Fredriksen ace and a Nichols' attacking error.

In the second set, BSU was ahead for nearly the entire way with Nichols evening the score at 23. Two kills by Welch finished the set and gave the Bears a 2-0 edge.

BSU trailed the Bison, 19-13, late in the third set, then scored 14 of the final 20 points. With the set knotted at 25-25, a kill by Welch put the Bears on top and a Nichols' attacking error closed out the match. Crane had a hand in four of the Bears' final 14 points with three kills and an ace. Bridgewater also took advantage of five Bison errors down the stretch.

Bridgewater registered 12 aces on the evening while Nichols finished with just six. Both teams recorded 11 serving errors.

The Bears are idle until Monday night when they travel to Milton to take on Curry College at 6 p.m.

Nichols will be home Thursday at 7 p.m. to face the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.