NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Fourth-seeded MCLA held off #5 Bridgewater State University, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic (MASCAC) Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.

With the win, the Trailblazers (12-11) advance to the tournament semifinal round as they will travel to Worcester State University on Thursday night to take on the top-seeded Lancers at seven. The Bears end the 2021 season with an overall record of 6-11.

MCLA started fast as they took the first two sets by the identical score of 25-19. Bridgewater State would not go down quietly, however, as the Bears bounced back with a 25-20 decision in the third set.

In the decisive fourth set, Bridgewater jumped out to a 12-8 lead before MCLA would rattle off four straight points to tie things up at 12-12.  BSU regained a 15-12 advantage after two straight aces from junior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.), but MCLA once again had the answer. This time the Trailblazers used a 6-1 spurt to take an 18-16 lead. A block from senior middle hitter Giselle Arredondo (South Gate, Calif.) tarted the run and junior outside hitter Kelly Moczulski (New River, Ariz.) knocked down a kill to give MCLA the lead.

BSU refused to quit however and used their own 6-1 spurt, highlighted by a pair of kills from freshman outside hitter Alexandra VanderPol (Marion, Mass.), to once again take the lead at 22-19.  From there, MCLA rallied. The Trailblazers would outscore BSU 6-1 down the stretch to secure the win. With the score at 24-22 in favor of the hosts, Bridgewater took advantage of an attacking error to get within a point at 24-23, but a BSU attacking error would seal the victory for the Trailblazers and move them on to the semifinals.

MCLA was paced by Moczulski's game best 15 kills to go along with eight digs, while senior middle hitter Reagan Scattergood (Rhineback, N.Y.) added 13 kills and 13 digs. Freshman right side hitter Chloie Garber (Eagle River, Alaska) checked in with 11 kills and 17 digs.

Graduate setter Natasha Stewart (North Andover, Mass.) tallied a match-best 40 assists and collected 16 digs including the 1,000th of her career. Earlier this season, Stewart also recorded her 1,000th assist.

Senior outside hitter Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with a team-best 11 kills to go along with 15 digs and one solo block. VanderPol added a career-best ten kills and two aces as well as three blocks (one solo), while senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) notched ten kills and five assisted blocks.

Quintal finished with 19 assists, ten digs and six aces. Fellow setter, sophomore Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.), contributed 18 assists and 13 digs.

Senior middle hitter Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) chipped in with seven kills, five assists and four assisted blocks for the Bears, while junior libero Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) led the defensive effort with a match-best 27 digs in addition to two kills and four assists.

Bridgewater State recorded ten blocks and 13 aces on the evening with just four serving errors. The Bears, however, struggled on the attack posting a .088 hitting percentage.

MCLA finished with a .156 hitting percentage, 12 blocks, seven aces and five serving errors.