WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State University women's volleyball team advanced to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tournament championship game by sweeping Bridgewater State University, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20), in a semifinal matchup on Saturday morning, Nov. 5.

Westfield's tall frontline and Bridgewater service errors (10 in the match) were keys to the Owls' victory. Also, Westfield only had three service errors along with six service aces.

In the first game, the No. 4 seed Bears (8-22 overall) pulled to within two, 10-8, with three straight points but the visitors committed two consecutive service errors. Westfield expanded its lead to 15-10 and reeled off five straight points, sparked by two kills from Kelsey Leonard (Billerica), to take a commanding 21-13 lead. The Owls closed out the game on successive kills from Lindsay Rescott (Northport, NY).

Westfield (14-20 overall and the MASCAC regular season champion with a 6-0 record) jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second game and the Owls dominated the net in holding leads of 15-8 and 22-12. Bridgewater tallied four straight points, including a kill by Danielle Dean (Gilford, NH), to close within six, 24-18, but Rescott ended the second game with another kill.

In the third game, Bridgewater jumped out to an 11-7 lead but another service error stalled its offense. Westfield tied the score at 13-all and took the lead for good, 18-16 on a Bear attack error and a service ace from Alyssa Danilow (West Springfield).

The Owls took a 20-17 lead on two consecutive service aces from Alex Shaw (East Falmouth), forcing the Bears to call a timeout.  Leading 22-20, Westfield clinched the match on a Rescott kill, a Kelley Dickson (West Springfield) service ace, and a Bridgewater attack error.

Shaw tied for game-high honors with 11 kills and also had two blocks. Julia Warner (Lee) finished with 11 kills and nine digs and Leonard had eight kills and two blocks. Kerin DeGirolamo (North Attleboro) racked up 32 assists along with two service aces and Dickson notched 10 digs and two aces.

Melanie Appleman (Hyannis) led Bridgewater with 24 assists, four blocks and two aces. Shayna Carmichael (Westport) recorded 10 kills and Tayler Beck (Marion) had seven kills and two aces. Dean tallied 12 digs and Michelle Atkins (Chelsea) had four blocks.