BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - The Bloomfield College women's volleyball team continued their best start to a season since joining Division II with a sweep on Saturday afternoon. The Bears shutout Chestnut Hill College, 3-0 and Southern Connecticut State University, 3-0 during their home opener tri-match at the Bloomfield Gym. The victories improved the team to 9-1 overall on the season and the win over the Griffins gave the Bears a 3-0 record in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play.
 
In Match 1 the conference foes traded points to a 9-9 tie in the first set before Chestnut Hill (3-11, 3-1 CACC) watched the home team pull away with a 10-1 outburst. The Bears went on to take set one, 25-17. Sets two and three were a little tighter but Bloomfield came away with 25-23 wins in each to complete the opening match sweep of the Griffins.
 
Senior Diannmarie Rivera (Trujillo Alto, P.R.) led the Bears in the first match with a game-high 14 kills and added 7 digs. Junior transfer Valerie Bermudez (San Juan, P.R.) posted eleven kills, fourteen digs and a service ace during the match. Edmarie Freytes (San Juan, P.R.) and Jacquelyn Madlock (Alta Loma, Calif.) paced the Bloomfield offense with 18 and 15 assists respectively. Sophomore Samantha Rios (Juncos, P.R.) chipped in 16 digs while Alex Glasper (Hainesport, N.J.) and Nayade Paulino (Paterson, N.J.) recorded three blocks each.
 
In Match 2 against the Owls, Bloomfield came out strong with a 9-6 lead before Southern Connecticut (2-12, 0-3 NE-10) came back to tie the match at 16-all. The Bears dug in and went on a 9-7 run to take set one 25-23.
 
Southern Connecticut found early success in set two taking a 4-0 lead before Bloomfield roared back to tie the score again at 16-16. The Bears used their own 4-0 run down the stretch to close out the set, 25-21 and seize a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
It was all Bloomfield in the third and final set as the hosts jumped out to a 18-12 lead over the Owls. Bloomfield continued to extend its lead and ended the game with a 25-18 third set victory over the Owls.
 
Bermudez led the Bears in match two with a game-high thirteen kills to go along with twelve digs and a service ace. Rivera chipped in with ten kills and six digs. Freytes registered 19 assists and recorded 3 service aces.
 
Bloomfield returns to the court on Tuesday evening for CACC action when crosstown rival, Felician College visits the Gym. The conference showdown is set for a 7:00pm start. 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.