By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Graduate student Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) reached a career milestone, helping the Bridgewater State University volleyball team win its eighth straight match.

Votta became the 10th player in program history to record 1,000 assists and the Bears defeated Fitchburg State University, 3-1, on Breast Cancer Awareness Night at the Tinsley Center.

BSU won by scores of 27-25, 25-13, 19-25 and 25-16 against the Falcons, who have lost 17 in a row to the Bears and are 3-22 in the all-time series.

The Bears (9-6) took over sole possession of first place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference at 4-0. BSU ist ahead of Westfield State University (3-0), which had its match with Worcester State postponed on Tuesday.

The Bears and Westfield State will meet with first place on the line Saturday at noon at the Tinsley Center.

BSU is on its first eight-game winning streak since eight straight victories Sept. 17-Oct. 2, 2015.

Votta recorded the 1,000th assist of her career during the first set. Her assist set up a kill by freshman Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) that pulled BSU within 14-13.

Votta finished with 20 assists, leaving her 74 behind ninth-place Kristen LaRoche (2000-03) on the BSU all-time list.

Sophomore Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) and sophomore Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) recorded double-doubles for the Bears.

Robinson contributed 18 assists and 10 digs while Welch had 12 digs and 11 kills to go along with three blocks (one solo).

Sophomore Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) chipped in with 18 digs, a pair of aces and three assisted blocks while sophomore Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) had 17 digs and two aces.

Junior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) led all players with 13 kills and a career-high five aces. Sullivan contributed nine kills and seven assisted blocks. Gowell also posted a match-best hitting percentage. 

For Fitchburg State (3-14, 0-4 MASCAC), senior Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.) had 13 digs, sophomore Mia Vestal (Wilmington, Mass.) had 10 digs and seven assists and freshman Madison Keohane (Wakefield, Mass.) added nine assists.

The Falcons opened the first set by taking a 9-4 lead, but a pair of Gowell kills helped the Bears get within 9-8.

After trailing, 12-8, BSU took a lead at 15-14 on a Crane kill, then trailed, 19-17. A Gowell kill put the Bears up 20-19, and after they fell behind, 23-21, they scored six of the final eight points.

Crane had a pair of kills in that run while Welch and Sullivan added one each.

Fitchburg State held an early 4-0 lead in the second set, but BSU rallied for a 6-4 lead. The Bears were behind, 9-8, then scored six points in a row with Gowell getting two straight aces.

BSU was in front, 19-10, and after Fitchburg State was within 19-13, the Bears closed out the set with six straight points, getting four attack errors.

Fitchburg State had a 5-0 lead to start the third set and never trailed. The Falcons were up, 16-7, and BSU got no closer than 24-19 with a kill by Mirra finishing the set.

The Bears opened the fourth set on an 8-1 run will Sullivan getting back-to-back kills. After Fitchburg State was within 10-8, BSU widened the lead to 18-10, and the Falcons were unable to get any closer than six.

Both teams had trouble on the serve and on the attack. The Bears posted a .121 hitting percentage, committed 11 serving errors and allowed nine aces. Fitchburg finished with more attacking errors (34) than kills (31) and recorded a -.021 hitting percentage. The Falcons also gave up 11 aces and committed six serving errors.

The two teams combined for 20 blocks.

Fitchburg State has a non-conference match against Connecticut College on Saturday at 1 p.m.