WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's volleyball team will host the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game on Saturday after defeating MCLA 3-1 in the semifinals on Thursday evening at John P. Brissette '88 Court.
The top-seeded Lancers will entertain #3 Framingham State at 6:00 PM on Saturday after the Rams upset #2 Westfield State in the other semifinal. At stake is the conference championship title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament.
MCLA (12-12) took the opening set 25-23 and looked well on their way to jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but the Lancers rallied from an 11-4 deficit in the second set with a 13-1 run and never looked back, taking the second 25-17 before winning 25-22 in each of the last two games.
Natalie Gillis (Ashland, Mass.) led the Lancers with 15 kills and had 13 digs to notch a double-double. Fellow senior Denise Hoxha (Worcester, Mass.) led the team with four service aces, while Leelle Tyler (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Gabby Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) were in double-figures in kills as well.
Alberghini and Erin Gaffney (Worcester, Mass.) were key cogs in the run that was served by Brooke Lamothe (Tewksbury, Mass.) and helped Worcester State overcome a slow start and take control of the match. When a service ace by Sarah Ward (Townsend, Mass.) stopped the run at 18-2, the home team had some breathing room, ahead 22-13.
They never trailed in the third set, as Tyler rattled off three kills in five points to give Worcester an 11-5 lead. They closed out the set with a kill by Maeve Cadogan (Wilmington, Mass.), who had five kills and three blocks in the victory.
Chloe Garber (Eagle River, AK) and Kelly Moczulski (New River, AZ) led the MCLA offense, with 16 and 15 kills respectively. Each of them had a double-double, as together they combined for 29 digs.
All seven players that took the court for the Trailblazers recorded a kill, with many of them set up by Natasha Stewart (North Andover, Mass.), who had 38 assists as well as 17 digs.
Worcester State also got five kills, 18 assists and a team-high 19 digs from freshman Angela Colonis (Waterford, Conn.).
The Lancers (11-15) will be looking for their third conference championship since 2017. Framingham State won the title three years in a row from 2014-2016.