By Jim Fenton

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team is riding a three-game winning streak.

The Bears survived a comeback bid to score a 3-2 non-conference victory over Mitchell College on Thursday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

It is BSU's first stretch of three consecutive victories since Oct. 8-11, 2022 when it defeated Anna Maria, Emmanuel and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The Bears improved to 4-6 while the Mariners, a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference fell to 3-7 with a fifth straight defeat.

BSU took the first set, 25-23, and followed with a 25-16 win in the second set. But Mitchell won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-21, to force a decisive set that went to the Bears, 16-14.

Sophomore Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) paced the visitors with a career-high 16 kills and five assisted blocks to go along with 13 digs and a pair of aces.

Freshman Charlotte Sullivan (Barnstable, Mass.) checked in with a collegiate-best 12 kills and three assisted blocks, while sophomore Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) chipped in with 19 digs, four kills and four aces.

Sophomore Xin Ai Robinson (Evans Mills, N.Y.) dished out a career-high 28 assists in addition to eight digs and ace, and graduate student Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) had 15 assists, six digs and a pair of aces in BSU's final match of September. Votta now has 910 assists in her career.

The Bears also received eight kills and three assisted blocks from senior Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.); eight kills and two assisted blocks from junior Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) as well as 13 digs and three aces from sophomore Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.).

For Mitchell, freshman Genna Hyde (Cypress, Texas) led all player with 20 kills and six aces to go along with 13 digs. Senior Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Calif.) added 11 kills and 11 digs for the Mariners. 

In the fifth set, BSU went out to a 7-1 lead keyed by three kills by Welch. Mitchell eventually used a 7-1 run to tie it at 10 and took its first lead at 12-11 on a Hyde kill.

An ace by Crane and a kill by Welch put BSU up, 14-13, and a kill by Welch and a service ace by freshman Natalie Fredriksen (Plymouth, Mass.) ended the match.

BSU jumped to an 8-3 lead in the opening set, getting kills by Sullivan and Welch to get things going.

Kills by Reardon, Welch and junior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) then opened the five-point margin and another kill by Reardon made it 11-6.

But the Mariners went on an 8-2 run to take a 14-13 lead, a kill by Hyde putting them on top.

BSU then scored five straight points capped by a Reardon kill for an 18-14 lead, but a kill by Hyde tied it at 23 before two straight Sullivan kills finished the set.

The Bears notched 16 kills in the set with Reardon checking in with four and Welch, Gowell and Sullivan tallying three apiece.

The Bears jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the second set as Welch and Sullivan tallied two kills apiece during the run while Crane produced a pair of aces.

The Mariners clawed back and cut the deficit to 14-12 following a BSU attacking error, but the visitors notched four straight points, highlighted by two kills from Sullivan, to reclaim control of the set.

Mitchell would get no closer than five points the rest of the way. Back-to-back kills from Reardon and Bethany Votta would close out the 25-16 decision.

The Bears fell behind, 7-1, to start the third set before a pair of Misay aces got them within 8-7. The visitors took their first lead of the set at 13-12 on a Robinson ace.

BSU opened a 20-16 lead on a Votta ace, but the Mariners outscored the Bears, 9-3, the rest of the way to take the set.

Hyde finished off the set with a pair of kills to keep Mitchell alive.

In the fourth set, the Bears never led and fell behind, 15-9.

BSU did get within 21-19 on a Reardon kill, but four kills by the Mariners finished off the set.

The Bears open the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference season on Tuesday at 6 p.m., playing at Framingham State University.

BSU was eliminated from the MASCAC tournament by the Rams last season.

Mitchell will play again on Saturday when it is at Curry College at 1 p.m.