BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University volleyball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a 3-1 victory (25-15, 25-23, 27-29, 25-19) over visiting Fitchburg State University on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 2-2 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while the Falcons fall to 2-3 (0-1 MASCAC). The Bears have won 15 straight matches against the Falcons and hold a 20-3 lead in the all-time series.

Junior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 13 kills, a .440 hitting percentage, five digs, one ace and one assisted block. Freshman middle hitter Rachel Sebastian-Asbed (St. Louis, Mo.) checked in with a match-best 14 kills as well as a .385 hitting percentage, while junior libero Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) notched a match-high 26 digs to go along with five assists. Senior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) led all players with 26 assists and six aces. Quintal also added six digs. Graduate outside hitter Julia Cabral (Acushnet, Mass.) contributed six kills, a pair of aces and ten digs. Freshman outside hitter Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) recorded ten kills and four aces.

The Bears posted a .230 hitting percentage with 14 aces and 14 serving errors, while the Falcons recorded a .112 hitting percentage with seven blocks, ten aces and 11 serving errors.

Freshman outside hitter Stephanie Sardella (Billerica, Mass.) led Fitchburg State with nine kills, two aces, 15 digs and a pair of assisted blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.) notched eight kills, four digs and three assisted blocks for the visitors, while senior setter Meredith Taylor (Reading, Mass.) tallied ten assists, three aces and eight digs, and junior setter Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.) checked in with three kills, nine assists, two aces and eight digs.

The Bears jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the opening set and coasted to the 25-15 win. Reardon and Sebastian-Asbed notched three kills apiece in the first set, while Quintal tallied four aces.

The second set was closely contested. Trailing 23-22, back-to-back kills by senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) gave the Bears set point. Gowell then closed out the set and gave the hosts a 2-0 lead with an ace.

Fitchburg pulled out a 29-27 win in a long, back-and-forth third set. With the scored knotted at 27-27, a BSU attacking error followed by a Taylor kill gave the visitors the set.

Bridgewater led 18-17 in the fourth set when a pair of Fitchburg attacking errors gave the hosts some breathing room. Back-to-back kills by Whalen and Reardon put the Bears up 22-18 in the set. After a Falcon point, the Bears closed out the set and the match with a kill by Sebastian-Asbad followed by a Cabral ace and a Reardon kill.

The Bears travel to Lesley University on Thursday night for a seven o'clock match with the Lynx. The Falcons head to Anna Maria College on Saturday to take on the AMCATS at noon.