BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – On Senior Night, the Bridgewater State University volleyball took sole possession of third place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) volleyball standings as the Bears downed visiting Worcester State University, 3-1, on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

Bridgewater improves to 13-15 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC with the win. The Bears also snapped a four-match losing streak. Worcester falls to 6-17 overall and 2-3 in conference play.  The Lances have dropped eight of their last nine.

With the opening set tied at 16-16, Bridgewater went on a 9-2 run to take set, 25-18. The Bears carried the momentum and completed dominated the second set winning 25-9.  The visiting Lancers rebounded with a 25-16 decision in set three and seemed poised to take the match to a decisive fifth set by jumping out to an 8-1 lead in set four. Bridgewater, however, regained momentum and battled back to tie it at 16-16 and used a 10-1 run to take the set and the match.

Senior setter Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.) notched 19 assists and three kills, senior libero Kristen Robillard (Swansea, Mass.) added 11 digs, and senior middle hitter Michelle Atkins (Chelsea, Mass.) registered six kills and one block assist.  Freshman outside hitter Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I.) added ten kills, three digs and one block assist, while sophomore middle hitter Julie Hutchins (Bellingham, Mass.) chipped in with six kills, one ace and eight blocks (three solo).

Junior outside hitter Alyssa Jasper (Rockland, Mass.) paced the Lancers with 11 kills and nine digs, while senior libero Vicki O'Brien (Canton, Mass.) tallied 23 digs and sophomore setter Gina Battista (West Springfield, Mass.) posted 18 assists, one ace and seven digs.  Sophomore middle blocker Meghan Deighan (Lynnfield, Mass.) added five kills and four aces.

Prior to the match, the Bears honored seniors Appleman, Robillard, Atkins, Emily Boyer (Stockbridge, Mass.), Chelsea Correia (East Falmouth, Mass.) and Danielle Dean (Gilford, N.H.) who were playing in their final regular season home match.

With her 19 assists, Appleman increased her career total to 1,959. She is fifth all-time in program history in the category.  Robillard now has 1,324 career digs while Dean has 1,095 digs. They rank third and seventh, respectively in the BSU record books.

This weekend, the Bears will compete at the Hall of Fame Invitational hosted by Mount Holyoke College.  The Lancers travel to Wentworth for a noontime match with the Leopards on Saturday.