NCAA Tournament - Volleyball to Battle Connecticut College
Framingham, Mass. – The 2012 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Regular Season and Tournament Champion Framingham State University Rams will be making their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship Tournament this weekend in New London, Conn.
The Rams will face Connecticut College from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) on Friday evening, November 9th at 8 p.m. The match will be web cast at firstteambroadcasting.com.
Under the direction of 9th year head coach Dick Casali, the Rams went 24-9 in 2012 including a perfect 6-0 mark in the conference and captured an automatic berth in the national tournament after defeating Bridgewater State University 3-0 in the MASCAC Championship match on Saturday afternoon. Casali was named the 2012 MASCAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Rams to the pair of crowns.
The Rams are led by the two-time MASCAC Player of the Year in junior outside hitter Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, Mass.) and the 2012 MASCAC Rookie of the Year in freshman outside hitter Danielle Girard (Tivoli, NY). Fernandes was tabbed as the MASCAC's Player of the Week six times this season as she racked up a MASCAC leading 438 kills and 314 digs. She recorded her 1,000 career kill during the Rams run to their first MASCAC Tournament Title. Girard had a solid season picking up 263 kills and 328 digs to go along with a conference best 79 aces. Sophomore middle hitter Ashley Nee (Hanson, Mass.) earned All-MASCAC honors this season as she led the league in hitting percentage (.338) and was second in kills (305) to Fernandes. Nee leads the Rams in blocks this season averaging .65 blocks per game to go along with 264 digs.
The Camels received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship after being defeated in the finals of the NESCAC Tournament by Middlebury College this past weekend. Conn. College compiled an overall record of 24-3, including a 14-match win streak, and an 8-2 mark in the NESCAC.
The Camels are the hosts for the eight team regional that will run from Friday to Sunday. The winner of the Framingham State-Conn. College match-up will meet the winner of the University of Massachusetts Boston-MIT match on Saturday.