BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Bears volleyball team welcomed their crosstown rivals from Caldwell University into the Bloomfield Gym for a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) showdown Thursday evening and fought a five-set battle with the home team prevailing, 3-2. The win gave the Bears sole possession of first place in the CACC North Division as they remained unbeaten at 5-0 in conference play and 11-1 overall. The Cougars fell to 12-5 overall on the season and 4-2 in CACC action.

The Cougars jumped in front after a 25-19 win over the home team in Set 1. It was the first set the Bears had lost in six games dating all the way back to September 15th against Holy Family. Bloomfield fought back in Set 2, taking a 27-25 victory to even the match at 1-1. In Set 3 the home team controlled the momentum and came away with a 25-21 win to take control 2-1 in the match but Caldwell stormed back in the fourth set. The visitors refused to go quietly and used a 25-19 win to force a fifth and deciding set.

In Set 5, the Bloomfield College faithful watched intently as the Cougars took a commanding 6-1 lead to start. The Bears dug in and rattled off a 6-1 run of their own to draw even at 7-7. The teams traded points back and forth and found themselves knotted at 9-9 before Bloomfield seized control with another 6-1 outburst fueled by senior Melissa Yepez (Paramount, Calif.) service on five of the points.

The Bears used an all-around effort from all of their players to pull out the clutch CACC victory as the dynamic duo of outside hitters, Diannmarie Rivera (Trujillo Alto,P.R.) and Valerie Bermudez (San Juan, P.R.) poured in an outstanding game. Rivera recorded a team-high 20 kills to go along with 18 digs and Bermudez chipped in 15 kills to accent 19 digs. The home team offense was paced by Edmarie Freytes (San Juan, P.R.) and Jacquelyn Madlock (Alta Loma, Calif.) who registered 28 and 21 assists respectively while CACC Honor Roll recipient for the week, Samantha Rios (Juncos, P.R.) notched a game-high 27 digs. Nayade Paulino (Paterson, N.J.), Alex Glasper (Hainesport, N.J.)  and Elizabeth Meyer (Otsego, M.N.) had stellar games in the middle turning away the Cougar attack with fifteen blocks between them for the match.

Next up for the Bears, they travel down the N.J. Turnpike to tangle with the Wildcats of Wilmington University. Bloomfield is now riding an eight-game win streak to sit atop the CACC North Division as the only unbeaten team in conference play and will square off with the CACC South Division leader in the Wildcats at 11am. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, from the Bloomfield College athletic department by liking the Bears on Facebook and following the Bears on Twitter or Instagram @GO_BCBears. Use the hashtag #BCBears to join the conversation.