No. 5 Worcester State Falls to No. 4 Bridgewater State in MASCAC Quarterfinals

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The No. 5 seed Worcester State University Lancers dropped a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) quarterfinal game to the No. 4 seed Bridgewater State 3-1 Wednesday (Nov. 2) evening  inside the Tinsley Center with set scores of 25-15, 25-22, 26-28, and 25-16.

Worcester State's offense was led by senior Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) who racked up 13 kills in the match. Caleigh Davis (Acushnet, Mass.) followed with 12, while Sarah Powers (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) collected 11 and 10, respectively. Davis registered a team-best .241 attack percentage, going 12-for-29. Worcester's Alexandra Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) collected all of the Lancers' 36 assists. Katrina Kangwijaya (Dunstable, Mass.) picked up 15 of the Lancers' 40 digs on the evening.

The Bears were led by Erin Clifford (Hanson, Mass.) who tallied a game-high 15 kills with a .361 attack percentage. Both Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I.) and Clara Goncalves (Dennis, Mass.) picked up 12 kills apiece.  Bridgewater's Charleyne Panner (Gilford, N.H.) grabbed 40 of the Bears' 41 assists. On the defensive end, a quartet of Bears hit double-digits in the digs category.

Bridgewater came away with a 25-15 victory in the first set as they held the Lancers to a negative attack percentage and kept theirs above the .200 mark. The Lancers tightened the gap in the second set as they came back from being behind 11-5, though, eventually fell 25-22. The Lancers made the game interesting in the third set when they once again rallied and came back from a 27-17 deficit to tie the score at 25-25. The Lancers then took the set win as Davis and Carens recorded back-to-back kills. However, the Bears seized the MASCAC tournament victory when they topped the Lancers 25-16 in the fourth and final set.

The Lancers wrap up their 2016 campaign with a 11-20 overall record. The Bears advance to 11-20 and will move onto the semifinal round of the MASCAC volleyball tournament on Saturday (Nov. 5).