Falcons Edged By Bears In Five Set Thriller

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State women's volleyball team dropped a tough five set decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Bridgewater State 3 (7-25, 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 8-15)
Records: Fitchburg State (1-5, 0-1 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (2-1, 1-0 MASCAC)

Set One
Bridgewater State raced out to a quick 13-0 advantage to open the first set on a trio of service aces from junior Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) before Fitchburg State cut the lead to 18-5 as senior Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) notched a kill. The Bears secured the first set victory however off a Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) serve.

Set Two
The Bears took a 16-10 edge as senior Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) collected three kills, but the Falcons went on a 7-0 run on a pair of service aces by sophomore Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.) for the 19-17 lead. Bridgewater State knotted the score at 21 apiece following an attack error before the Falcons took the second set, 25-23 off a service error.

Set Three

The Green and Gold opened up the third set with 15-7 lead on a solo block by Sheehan and kill from sophomore Alissa Olmsted (Ashby, Mass.) before the Bears tied the match at 18-18 on a kill by junior Saadia Reid (Bridgewater, Mass.) and a Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) service ace. The hosts went on to close out the third set with three of the final four points, highlighted by a Sariah Dyer (Raynham, Mass.) block and a Sheehan kill.

Set Four

Bridgewater State would take a 6-1 advantage in the fourth set off Rice kill, but Fitchburg State answered back to knot the set at 6-6 on back-to-back kills by Sheehan. Trailing 23-17, the hosts rattled off four of the next five points as graduate student Lauren Riccardi (Tewksbury, Mass.) netted a pair of kills and a block before the Bears netted the final two points, polished off on a Calano service ace for the 26-24, fourth set final.

Set Five

Fitchburg State grabbed a slim edge on a block and a kill by Riccardi, but Bridgewater State responded with a 3-0 run off Votta service ace for the 8-6 margin. The Falcons narrowed the lead to 8-7 following a kill by freshman Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.) before the visitors secured the final set victory (15-8) as sophomore Amber Arruda (Swansea, Mass.) notched the kill.

Inside the Numbers

This evening's contest marked the 22nd meeting between the two teams on the volleyball court with the Falcons 3-19 all-time when taking on the Bears

Bridgewater State has won 14 straight against Fitchburg State, including a 3-0 decision in the last match on Oct. 15, 2019 at the Parkinson Gymnasium

Fitchburg State paced by led by senior Amy Coelho (Bellingham, Mass.) with a match-leading 25 digs, one kill and two assists, while Sheehan added a team-best 12 kills, one dig and three solo blocks. Graduate student Perry Joubert (Seekonk, Mass.) was also solid for the Green and Gold, contributing with 14 assists, one kill and three service aces.

For Bridgewater State, Quintal registered a match-best 23 assists, four service aces and nine digs, while Rice chipped in with 13 kills, one service ace, two digs and one solo block. Caliano finished with 16 digs, five assists and three service aces for the visitors.

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to Regis College to take on the Pride for a non-conference matchup, starting at 10:00 AM. Bears will off until Saturday, Sept. 25th when they visit Salem State for a MASCAC tilt at 12:00 PM.