After winning their semifinal contests in exciting fashion Thursday night, top seed Worcester State and third seed Framingham State will meet in the MASCAC Volleyball Tournament Championship on Saturday.

#3 Framingham State 3, #2 Westfield State 2        Box Score

Westfield, Mass. - The third seed Framingham State University volleyball team defeated second seed Salem State 3-2 in one semifinal of the 2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) 2021 Volleyball Championship tonight at the Woodward Center and with the victory advance to the tournament finals on Saturday.

THE BASICS:

- Scores:         Framingham State 3, Westfield State 2

- Records:      Framingham State (16-15), Westfield State (8-21)

- Location:     Woodward Center – Westfield, Mass.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Owls and Rams split the first two sets laying the groundwork for a pivotal third frame. The Rams outlasted the Owls, 28-26, weathering eight lead changes and 15 ties in a back and forth set.
• The Owls responded in the fourth to extend the game but the Rams offensive combo of Valerie Sullivan (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Hailey Sanders (Franklin, Mass.) took control of the final set with four kills each. 
• The Rams earned the win by scores of 18-25, 25-18, 28-26, 13-25, 15-8.
• Sullivan finished with a match-best 23 kills on 5- attempts with a .360 hitting percentage, while she also added nine digs.
• Sanders finished the match with 18 kills on 40 attempts with three digs and three blocks.
• Morgan Failla (Providence, R.I.) dished out 57 assists in the win and picked up 14 digs.
• Brandee Thomas (North Kingston, R.I.) added 13 kills and 17 digs for the Rams while first year libero Isabel Henwood (Guaynabo, P.R.) posted a match-high 24 digs.
• The Owls were led by Shawna and Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) who had 20 and 18 kills respectively. Shawna picked up 18 digs and Ashley added 16.
• Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) also picked up a double-double in the setback with 12 kills and 11 digs.
• Jessica Haradon (Mansfield, Mass.), grabbed 21 digs and Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) landed six service aces.

 UP NEXT: With the victory, third seed Framingham State advances to the finals of the tournament and will face top seed Worcester State on Saturday night in Worcester at 6 p.m.

#1 Worcester State 3, #4 MCLA 1    Box Score

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.

Releases courtesy of Framingham State and Worcester State Sports Information