Bears Outlast Owls in MASCAC Championship Thriller

WESTFIELD, Mass. – MASCAC Tournament MVP Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) slammed home the match-winning kill as Bridgewater State rallied to defeat Westfield State in a five-set Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship classic from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

Welch was named the MASCAC Tournament MVP after tying teammate Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) with a game-high 13 kills. Welch also led Bridgewater with 20 digs as the Bears clinched the automatic qualifying bid from the MASCAC.

The Owls jumped out to a two-sets-to-none lead in the championship match before the Bears stormed back in the third and fourth frames to force a decisive winner-take-all fifth set. Welch delivered a kill early in the set, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead. Two additional Welch kills kept Bridgewater in front 5-3 before a Bears attacking error followed by an Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) kill pulled the Owls back to even at five apiece.

Both teams traded points, keeping the set tied at 8-8 before Crane single-handedly gave Bridgewater breathing room. Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) set up Crane for a kill to take a 9-8 lead, then on the next volley, Crane leaped in front of the net to block an Owls attack. Crane notched another kill on the ensuing possession to provide the Bears with an 11-8 advantage. A bad set from Westfield forced an Owls timeout with Bridgewater just three points away from a championship.

Westfield scored the next point on an attacking error, but two more Bears points followed off a Westfield service error, then an attacking error, putting Bridgewater in position to close out the match.

The Owls were resilient, fending off four straight championship points. With the frame at 14-10, Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) and Bingham logged consecutive kills, trimming the deficit to a two-point Bears lead which initiated a Bridgewater timeout.

Out of the timeout, a bad set from the Bears registered the Owls fourth consecutive point, drawing closer at 14-13. However, after a second Bridgewater timeout, Welch hammered an attack to the far side of the court, finding the open space to lift the Bears to their first championship title since 2008.

The entirety of the match was filled with momentum swings as Bridgewater began the match with a 12-6 lead in set one. A kill from Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) gave the Bears a seven point lead (15-8) before Westfield began to chip away. Six of the next seven points went in the Owls favor with Cummins generating two kills within the run to make a 16-13 deficit.

Bridgewater was first to 20 points, leading by five until a furious streak of nine straight points tipped the pendulum in the Owls direction. Emma Nihill scored two straight points via kills to tie the match, then a block from Julia Bartiet (Cheshire, Conn.) and Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) followed by a Hanna Nihill kill opened up a two-point lead. After a pair of Bears' errors, a kill from Emma Nihill finished the first set with the Owls up 1-0 on the match.

The Owls carried over the momentum from the end of set one throughout the second set with the Owls ripping off 15 of the first 19 points with Bartiet totaling four kills in the spurt. Westfield cruised into the later portions of the set, leading by 15 points before Cummins and Bingham ended the second set with a 16-point advantage, the largest margin by either side throughout the game.

Westfield appeared to be in control to start the third set, scoring the initial five points with two service aces from Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.). However, from that point forward, the Bears seized control of the match, surging ahead after tallying ten of the next 14 points with a kill from Crane giving Bridgewater their first lead of the set. Tied 11-11, Bridgewater sprinted ahead with nine consecutive points, a hole the Owls were unable to climb out of as the Bears would extend the match to a fourth set.

The fourth set also included an 11-all tie and once again Bridgewater was able to distance themselves from Westfield. A block from Crane and Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) followed by an ace from Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) capped a string of eight points scored within a ten-point span, giving the Bears a 19-13 lead. Bridgewater would grasp hold of the lead despite a few comeback efforts from Westfield with a block from Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) and Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) securing the game-tying kill.

Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) led the Owls with 21 assists while Chloe Schuld (Sycamore, Ill.) racked up a season-high 33 digs. Bartiet added three solo blocks.

Robinson assisted on over half of the Bears kills, registering 26 assists on 51 total kills. Gowell ended with five block assists.

The loss ends a strong season for the Owls, who finished 15-13 on the year. The Bears punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament, improving to 13-9 overall.