Volleyball Swept by Bridgewater State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The MCLA Volleyball Team welcomed the Bridgewater State Bears to the Amsler Campus Center gymnasium for an evening MASCAC matchup. With the season winding towards its conclusion, the Trailblazers entered the game in possession of the fourth seed in the upcoming MASCAC playoffs, a half-game ahead of Framingham State and a half-game behind Worcester State, with two regular-season conference games to go. The Bears entered play holding a tenuous grip on the second seed and the first-round bye that comes with it, a full game ahead of Worcester State. Bridgewater's Meaghan Coutu had 12 kills to lead a balanced Bears attack, including six players with four or more kills.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024

• Score: Bridgewater State 3, MCLA 0
• Records: Bridgewater State Bears 10-7 (MASCAC 5-1) | MCLA Trailblazers 8-15 (MASCAC 3-3)
• Series History: Bridgewater State leads the all-time series 26-8. MCLA came away with a 3-1 victory when the teams met last season in Bridgewater on October 25^th. Bridgewater State also won the first-ever meeting between the teams 3-0 on October 29, 1983, in North Adams.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bridgewater took the match in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 25-23, and 25-21with all three sets played out in a similar fashion of the teams trading blows until the Bears would put a small run together, and MCLA would respond, followed by Bridgewater finding a higher gear to close out the set.
• The Bears' Meaghan Coutu finished the match with a game-high 12 kills on 22 attacks, good for a .500 hitting percentage. Lilly Welch (eight kills on 18 attacks, .389) and Abigail Reardon (six kills on 14 attacks, .357) also had impressive offensive nights.
• MCLA was paced by two double-digit killers, in senior right-side Chloie Garber (Eagle River, AK) and junior outside hitter Audrey Melson (Champlin Park, MN). Junior outside hitter Elizabeth Brown (Lee, MA) was just off their pace, finishing with eight kills for the Trailblazers.
• Brown also recorded a game-high 14 digs, one more than senior libero Ezmeralda Albright's (Loves Park, IL) 13 digs. Bethany Votta led the Bridgewater with 11 digs.
• The Bears' Xin Ai Robinson recorded a game-high 18 assists, one more than MCLA first-year setter Addison Decaro (Eagle River, AK), who recorded 17. Decaro also had three service aces, while three different Bridgewater players (Lilly Misay, Ava Crane, & Sarah Brogioli) picked up a pair of aces.

UP NEXT:

On Thursday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Albertus Magnus for a non-conference matchup with the Falcons in the Amsler Campus Center Gym. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.

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