Worcester, MA- After an exciting end to the season that saw Worcester State Volleyball (9-18, 4-3) fall in their regular season finale to MCLA, before claiming the #5/#4 seed victory over them just a few days later, the lancers are now headed back to Westfield to face a common postseason foe. Two seasons ago Worcester fell in the MASCAC Championship to Westfield and earlier this year the Owls claimed a three set victory over the Blue and Gold, two outcomes the Lancers aim to avenge tonight.
Final
Worcester State: 1
Westfield State: 3
How it Happened:
The two teams met in what lived up to be an action packed battle in a win or go home match. The first set would live up to the hype with both teams trading points. The Owls would jump out midway through the set on a 9-4 run, but Worcester would bring the score back within two. With the score settled at 21-23, the Owls managed to snag the final two points to claim the opening set victory.
The second set saw the Owls carry their momentum from the first two the second with a 14-7 lead. The Lancers would get back into their groove though before it was too far out of hand bringing the score back down to four off a kill by graduate assistant Maeve Cadogan (Wimington, MA). Westfield would jump into the lead again with a 7-3 run that would see the Owls push it to a 25-18 win to grab the second set.
The Lancers would make their comeback push in the third with a 5-0 run behind senior Megan Bardis (Sterling, MA). Worcester would continue their third set charge extending their lead to 18-10 off the service of first year Katherine Crateau (North Andover, MA). An attack error by Westfield would provide Worcester the points needed to claim the third set with a 25-15 tally.
Westfield would look to set the battle in the fourth set and looked to jump out early but Worcester was not willing to concede their season and after grabbing a lead that was quickly equaled by the Owls the two teams went back and forth. The owls would grab a small lead before the Lancers, behind senior Angela Colonis (Waterford, CT) would quickly swap the score grabbing a 16-14 lead. The Owls though answered back to work to prevent the tying of the match bringing the score to 17-17. Both programs would take steps into the lead before the Owls managed to win the late point battle with a 25-23 fourth set battle.
Colonis would end her last senior season match with a triple double with 12 digs, 13 assists and 11 kills in the match, while Junior Cassidy D'Esposito (Medford, NY) would claim 12 kills. Cadogan would end her last match with five blocks on the night
What's Next:
Westfield will now move onto the MASCAC Finals to face Bridgewater State on Saturday as Worcester State wraps up their season against a repeated foe.