FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The visiting Bridgewater State University volleyball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a tough five set decision over Fitchburg State University on Tuesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

After cruising to a 25-7 win in the opening set, the Bears dropped the next two, 23-25 and 20-25, before rallying for a 26-24 victory in the fourth set. Bridgewater then won the match with a 15-8 triumph in the deciding fifth set.

The Bears improve to 2-1 (1-0 MASCAC) on the young season, while the host Falcons fall to 1-5 (0-1 MASCAC). Bridgewater State has won 14 straight matches against Fitchburg State and holds a 19-3 lead in the all-time series. Tonight marked the first time the Falcons had taken a set against the Bears since 1994.

Bridgewater State raced out to a quick 13-0 advantage in the opening set, highlighted by three aces from junior Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.), and were never threated.

The Bears then took a 16-10 lead in the second set and seemed in control of the match. The Falcons, however, went on a 7-0 run fueled by a pair of aces by sophomore Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.) to pull ahead 19-17. The Bears would tie the match at 21-21 before the Falcons took the second set, 25-23 off a serving error.

The third set was knotted at 18-18 when the Falcons ripped off four straight kills including a pair from Sariah Dyer (Raynham, Mass.) to take control. Moments later, a kill from senior Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) gave the hosts a 2-1 lead in the match.

In a back-and-forth fourth set, the score was knotted at 15-15 when back-to-back FSU errors gave the Bears the lead. The Falcons would rally to tie the set at 24-24, but a bad set followed by a Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) ace would send the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the finale, the Bears used a 7-1 run capped off by a Saadia Reid (Bridgewater, Mass.) kill to open up a 13-7 lead. Six off the seven points were a result of Fitchburg errors. Bridgewater then closed out the match on a kill by sophomore Amber Arruda (Swansea, Mass.) followed by a Falcon attacking error.

Quintal paced Bridgewater State with a match-best 23 assists to go along with four aces and nine digs, while senior Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) chipped in with 13 kills, one ace, two digs and a solo block. Caiano finished with 16 digs, five assists and three aces for the visitors.

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

The 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. The Bears are off until Saturday, September 25th when they visit Salem State for a noontime MASCAC match.