Volleyball takes down Framingham State 3-1
Framingham, MA- MCLA earned a hard fought 4-set MASCAC victory this evening in Logan Gymnasium on the campus of Framingham State 25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22. With the win the Trailblazers improve to 9-3 (3-0 MASCAC) while the Rams fall to 10-5 (2-1 MASCAC).
After tying the Rams at 3-3 on a Julia Graham (Chittenango, NY) kill, MCLA would not trail for the rest of the 1st set. Framingham State would close to 15-14 but would only score once more as the Trailblazers went on a 10-1 run to take the 1st set 25-15.
MCLA would keep it going to start the 2nd taking a 13-6 lead forcing a Framingham State timeout. The Rams would respond winning 4 out of the 5 next points before a kill by first year Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, CT) would stop the bleeding and spark a 5-point MCLA run to stretch the lead to 18-10. The Rams would battle back using a 10-4 run and trim the lead to just one at 21-20. But as they had in the 1st set, MCLA finished strong this time thanks to a 5-0 run which gave them a 25-20 set win and a commanding 2-0 set advantage.
The third set was tight with neither team holding more than a 2-point lead until the Trailblazers inched ahead 17-14. The Rams responded with a 6-0 run to jump ahead by three and would enjoy that same margin at 23-20. MCLA would reel off the next 3 points to pull even but ultimately it was Framingham State that would win the 3rd 26-24.
Back-to-back aces by first year Anais Badio (Las Vegas, NV) at the end of 5-0 run would give MCLA a 14-8 lead midway through the 4th set. A 7-2 Framingham State run answered by 5-1 Trailblazer run would keep MCLA ahead at 21-16. The Rams would battle back again going on a 6-0 run to take the lead on junior Anna Szymanski's (Harwinton, CT) kill, 22-21. True to form, MCLA would win the next 4 points with Chloie Garber (Eagle River, AK) clinching the set 25-22, and the match 3-1, on the sophomore's 3rd service ace of the evening.
Garber would finish with 18 kills and 17 digs. Anais Badio would add 12 kills and 11 digs. First year Elizabeth Brown (Lee, MA) pitched in 11 kills and 19 digs. Shannon O'Brien had 38 assists and 7 digs. Sophomore libero Ellie Walter-Goodspeed (Auburn, WA) also had 17 digs in the win.
For the Rams Anna Szumanski had a match high 22 kills to go along with 13 digs while classmate Hailey Sanders (Franklin, MA) chipped in 14 digs.
Both teams return to action tomorrow and both will play a pair of nonconference matches. Framingham State will take on Roger Williams at 1pm and tri-match host Wheaton College at 3pm. MCLA will travel to Skidmore College for a doubleheader with the Thoroughbreds scheduled for 1pm.