Volleyball Advances to MASCAC Tournament Finals with 3-0 Win Over Bridgewater State

Framingham, Mass. - The second seeded Framingham State University volleyball team defeated third seed Bridgewater State University 3-0 in one semifinal of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament at the Athletic Center this evening to advance to the finals on Saturday.

THE BASICS:

- Scores:   Framingham State 3, Bridgewater State 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18)

- Records: Framingham State (18-11), Bridgewater State (11-15)

- Location:  Athletic Center – Framingham, Mass.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• With the victory, the Rams advance to the finals of the 2019 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament and will face top seed Westfield State on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Westfield. The winner of the tournament final receives the MASCAC's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
• The Rams were paced by 13 kills and 14 digs from sophomore Brandee Thomas (North Kingstown, RI).  Thomas hit .122 in the match and added an assist, a pair of blocks and an ace.
• Sophomore Payton Hodsdon (Somersworth, N.H.) also recorded double digit kills with 11 in the match.  Hodsdon tallied her 11 kills on 28 attempts with just four errors for a .250 attack percentage.
• The Bears were led on the attack by seven kills apiece from juniors Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.). Serrano added 11 digs in the match, while Rice recorded seven blocks including five solo.
• The Rams back row play was paced by 18 digs from sophomore Alyssa Cafarelli (Peoria, AZ), while junior Morgan Failla (Providence, RI) added 10 digs and 28 set assists.
• The Bears defense was led by 14 digs from freshman Victoria Caiano (New Bedford, Mass.), while junior Casey Holmes (Norton, Mass.) added 11 and 22 assists.
• The Rams took the lead early in the opening set 9-3, but the Bears rallied and pulled within three, 10-7.  The Rams countered with a spurt of their own capped by a kill from junior Brandey Rodriguez (Lawrence, Mass.) to extend the lead to 17-9.  Bridgewater cut the gap to four, 23-19, on a Ram error but a kill from freshman Hailey Sanders (Franklin, Mass.) secured the frame for the hosts.
• In the second, the Bears took the lead right away and pulled ahead 7-2. The Rams closed the gap to 9-7, but the Bears pushed the lead back to three. The Rams tied the set at 14-14 on an ace from Thomas, but Bears scored four straight taking an 18-14 lead.  The Rams tied the game at 18-all on an ace from Rodriguez and took their first lead of the frame (19-18) on Bears hitting error. The Rams never trailed again securing the 2-0 lead.
• The Rams took a 5-0 lead in the third and never looked back. The Bears cut the gap to one, 7-6, but the Rams pushed the lead to 17-10 before taking the set 25-18.

UP NEXT:

The second seed Rams will face top seed Westfield State on Saturday at 5 pm in the finals of the MASCAC Tournament.