Westfield, MA --- Top-seed Westfield State captured their third consecutive MASCAC tournament championship in defeating the Lancers (25-16, 25-13, 25-11) earning them an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament.
Westfield State dispatched No. 4 seed Bridgewater State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) in the tournament semifinals, while No. 3 Worcester State (13-17), knocked off No. 2 seed Framingham State, 3-2, in Saturday's other semifinal match.
Westfield State 3, Worcester State 0 - MASCAC Tournament Championship
Top-seed Westfield State (15-10) was led by tournament MVP senior Kerin DeGirolamo (North Attleboro, MA). DeGirolamo directed the offensive attack with 27 assists on 35 kills for the Owls. DeGirolamo also totaled six service aces and eight digs against the Lancers.
Worcester State's (13-17) only lead was in the first set, 6-5. With the hosts ahead 13-12, the Owls would go on a 7-2 run to take a 20-14 lead. Westfield expanded it to 23-15 after a DeGirolamo ace and closed out the set with a kill and an ace from sophomore Lindsay Rescott (Northport, NY).
In the second set, Westfield bolted to leads of 10-2 and 20-6. In the third set, the Owls jumped out to a 7-0 advantage behind the serving of DeGiromalo. She served on six of the points, including three aces.
Also playing well for the Owls along with DeGirolamo were: senior Alex Shaw (East, Falmouth, MA) (11 kills, 2 blocks), Rescott (9 kills, 2 aces) and second year Julia Warner (Lee, MA) (7 kills, 11 digs).
Worcester State was led by sophomore Vicki O'Brien (Canton, MA) with 14 digs, senior Joanne Grenier (Orange, MA) who had 13 helpers, and third-year Becky Lebel (Millbury, MA) with four kills and 10 digs.
Worcester State 3, Framingham State 2 - MASCAC Tournament Semifinals
Third-seeded Worcester State advanced to the championship game of the MASCAC Women's Volleyball Tournament with a hard-earned 3-2 victory (25-16, 19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-8) over #2 seed Framingham State University early this afternoon.
Framingham State, which ended its season with a 19-13 overall record, defeated Worcester, 3-1 during the regular season. In the tournament match, the Lancers passed well and kept their errors to a minimum including only two service errors the entire match.
After dropping the first set, 25-16, Framingham rebounded to take the second set, 25-19. The Rams held single-digit leads throughout most of the match but the Lancers closed to within two, 21-19. Framingham State then closed the match with four straight points, capped by a kill from junior Jackie Friel (Centerville, MA).
WSU then took the third set, 25-17. The Lancers snapped a 4-4 deadlock to take an 11-6 lead, forcing Framingham to call a timeout after an ace by the Grenier.
The teams then traded points throughout the remainder of the match with Framingham trailing 21-17, for its smallest deficit. The Lancers would close out the set with two straight services aces from Grenier.
Framingham State knotted the match at 2-2 by taking the fourth set, 25-22. Worcester reeled off seven straight points for a 7-3 lead but Framingham regrouped, outscoring Worcester, 8-1, for a 16-13 lead. Three kills from sophomore Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, MA) sparked the run.
The Lancers would then trail 23-21 following a kill from Lebel, but the Rams pulled out the victory on a Friel kill and Worcester attacking error.
In the deciding fifth set, Worcester snapped a 3-3 tie with scoring runs of 6-0 and 10-1. Freshman Alyssa Jasper (Rockland, MA) sparked the big scoring surge with three kills and two blocks. Framingham went on a 4-0 surge to make it 13-8 but it was too late and kills from Jasper and junior Robyn Linscott (Weymouth, MA) clinched the victory.
Jasper led the Lancers with 15 kills and four blocks and Grenier racked 41 assists. Also playing well were O'Brien (25 digs), senior Katey Figella (Feeding, Hills, MA) (11 kills), Lebel (13 kills, 15 digs), and sophomore Nicole Hanson (Hanson, MA) (20 digs).
For the Rams, freshman Ashley Nee (Hanson, MA) had 14 kills and two aces and classmate Morgan Drew (North Easton, MA) produced 37 assists. Other statistical leaders were: First-year Kayla Bertrand (Agawam, MA) (12 digs, 2 aces), freshman Michelle DeJesus (Milford, MA) (18 digs), Fernandes (10 kills), and Friel (four blocks).
Major Portions of Releases Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information