Volleyball Sweeps Tri-Match with Newbury and Southern Maine

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University volleyball team swept a non-conference tri-match this afternoon defeating the University of Southern Maine and Newbury College by a score of 3-0 at the Athletic Center. In the day's other match, the Huskies defeated Newbury 3-0.

With the wins, the Rams are now 2-4 on the young season, while the split drops Southern Maine to 5-2 and the Nighthawks are now 0-3

The Rams took the opener 3-0 over Newbury by scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-19. The Rams were paced by senior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) who tallied a match-high 13 kills, four digs and three blocks.  Classmate Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.) added nine kills, eight digs and four aces, while junior Victoria Anderson (Attleboro, Mass.) also recorded eight digs.

The Nighthawks were led by 10 kills and nine digs from senior Courtney Banks (Corona, Calf.), while Kataya Sykes (Brockton, Mass.) added six kills.  Marlen Reynoso (Springdale, Ark.) chipped in 17 set assists.

The Huskies earned the victory in game two of the day defeating the Nighthawks 25-17, 25-20 and 25-10.  The Huskies were led by 16 kills and 10 digs from junior Jess Williamson (Goffstown, N.H.).  Freshman Jenna Graves (Corinth, TX) was solid defensively with 20 digs.  Senior Megan Nilson (Granby, Conn.) chipped in with 13 digs and 17 assists, while Nicole Schmitz (St. Paul, MN) recorded 11 assists.

The Nighthawks were once again led by Banks who recorded a team high seven kills with seven digs.  Junior Julia Leggett (Longview, Wash.) added 13 digs, while Reynoso chipped in with 15 assists.

In the final match of the day, the Rams defeated Southern Maine by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-18.  Rackliffe once again led the way with 10 kills, eight digs and five blocks, while Wan added six kills and seven digs.  Freshman Deirdre Fay (Cornwall, NY) recorded 10 digs and a pair of aces, while junior Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.) added 23 assists and nine digs.

The Huskies were paced by seven kills from Williamson.  Nilson recorded 17 set assists with 11 digs and freshman Taylor Ziska (Loveland, CO) and Graves added 11 and nine digs respectively.

The Rams open conference action on Tuesday night at home when they host Bridgewater State at 7 p.m.  The Nighthawks are back in action when they host Dean College on Thursday at 7 p.m., while the Huskies host Bates on Wednesday also at 7 p.m.