Westfield State Grabs Top Seed in 2019 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament
After finishing with a perfect 7-0 record in the conference, Westfield State is the top seed in the MASCAC Volleyball Tournament which kicks off with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, November 5.
After finishing with a perfect 7-0 record in the conference, Westfield State is the top seed in the MASCAC Volleyball Tournament which kicks off with the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, November 5.
Up first on Tuesday #3 Bridgewater State hosts #6 Salem State and #4 MCLA entertains #5 Worcester State both at 6 pm. In the semifinal round on Thursday, #1 Westfield State will play the winner of MCLA/Worcester State at 7 pm while #2 Framingham State will host the winner of Bridgewater State/Salem State at 7:15 pm.
The two semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday, November 9 at the highest remaining seed for a shot at the MASCAC Tournament crown and a NCAA Tournament berth.
With a first round bye and top spot, Westfield State earned the MASCAC Regular Season title with their 7-0 mark. Defensive Specialist Lizze Taylor ended the regular season first in the conference in total digs with 555, digs per set at 5.66 and service aces with 57. Middle Hitter Brianna Starkey collected 255 kills (2.52 per set) along with 73 total blocks, 27 solo, 65 digs and 13 service aces for the Owls.
With the other first round bye and the second seed is Framingham State who was 6-1 during league play this year. Reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Year Outside Hitter Brandee Thomas finished the season atop the conference in kills and kills per set with 277 and 3.38, respectively. She also had 101 digs, 13 total blocks and 12 service aces.
Bridgewater State has the third seed after finishing 5-2 in the MASCAC. Setter Casey Holmes tallied 489 assists (6.52 per set), 169 digs, 34 service aces and 19 blocks for the Bears.
Landing the fourth seed is MCLA. The Trailblazers concluded the conference season 4-3. In her first year with the team, Outside Hitter Kelly Moczulski closed out the regular season in the top 10 of the league in several categories, including total kills (265), kills per set (3.01), service aces (57) and digs (261).
Closing out this year's tournament seeds is Worcester State and Salem State in fifth and sixth. The Lancers had three wins while the Vikings had two during the MASCAC slate. Worcester State's Outside Hitter Natalie Gillis tallied 268 kills (2.98 per set), 210 digs, 12 total blocks and 10 service aces. For Salem State, Right Side Morgan Adams finished with 427 assists (6.28 per set), 142 digs, 20 service aces and 13 total blocks.
Worcester State won back-to-back MASCAC Tournament Champions during the 2018 tournament with a 3-0 win over third seed Westfield State to grab a spot in the NCAA Tournament.