Fernandes, Girard & Casali Earn Major Awards as Volleyball Places Three on All-MASCAC Team

Buzzards Bay, Mass. – Junior outside hitter Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, Mass.) has been tabbed as the 2012 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Volleyball Player of the Year, freshman outside hitter Daniel Girard (Tivoli, NY) has been slated as the Rookie of the Year and head coach Richard Casali has been named the Coach of the Year and three Rams have been named to the All-Conference squad in a vote taken of the conference's seven coaches. 

Fernandes, Girard and sophomore middle hitter Ashley Nee (Hanson, Mass.) were all named to the All-MASCAC first team.

Fernandes, a six time MASCAC Player of the Week in 2012, repeats as Player of the Year as she notched 438 kills and 314 digs in leading the Rams to their first MASCAC Regular Season and Tournament Titles as well as a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships with a 24-9 overall mark.  Fernandes, the conference leader in kills this season, amassed nearly 800 kills in the past two seasons and eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark for her career in the tournament final victory over Bridgewater State.

Girard registered 263 kills and 328 digs during her rookie season with the Rams and led the team with a .905 serving percentage including 79 aces which also ranked her first in the conference.  Nee, the 2011 MASCAC Rookie of the Year, earns her second all-conference honors as she led the league in hitting percentage (.338) and was second in kills (305) to Fernandes.

Casali was selected by his peers as the Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season after leading the Rams to 24 overall victories, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the conference, to go along with the league's regular season and tournament crowns.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation's oldest Division III men's and women's playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom.  MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.  Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sport of men's ice hockey.