Volleyball Drops Two To Worcester State and Westfield State

Worcester, Mass. -- Westfield State junior Alex Shaw (E. Falmouth, MA) notched totals of 23 kills and six blocks while sophomore Kelsey Leonard (Billerica, MA) added 21 kills and 13 blocks to help lead the Owls to a 3-1 victory over Framingham State and a 3-0 triumph over Worcester State to up their season marks to 15-10 and 4-0 in MASCAC play.

The Lancers (12-12, 4-2 MASCAC) opened today's tri-match with a 3-0 triumph over the Rams (15-12, 2-2 MASCAC) as they were paced by junior Kristen Koles (Billerica, MA) who recorded 13 kills and three block assists. Senior Jessi Goode (Marstons Mills, MA) led the Rams with 43 digs.

The Blue and Gold hosted "Dig Pink" day in an effort to raise money for the Side-Out Foundation as part of October's Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Worcester State will entertain Keene State in their final home game on Wednesday at 7 PM while Framingham State travels to Suffolk for a 7 o'clock non conference matchup on Thursday. Westfield State takes the week off before competing in the Hall of Fame Invitational at Mount Holyoke.

Worcester State 3, Framingham State 0

With a balanced score sheet paced by six kills apiece from Koles and senior Brittney Ledoux (Nashua, NH), Worcester State defeated Framingham State in three straight sets, 25-17, 25-10 and 25-23.

Sophomore Becky Lebel (Millbury, MA) and freshman Megan Brown (Dartmouth, MA) picked up 10 digs and 11 digs respectively, while Lebel and Koles each amassed five block assists. First-year Shawna Strazzere (Billerica, MA) handed out 12 assists as junior Joanne Grenier (Orange, MA) put up 12 digs and finished with two service aces.

Freshman Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, MA) and sophomore Jackie Friel (Centerville, MA) chipped in five kills apiece while Goode had a team-best 18 digs.

In the opening set, Worcester State started with a 7-3 lead and opened up a 13-6 advantage before Framingham made it an 18-12 contest. The Rams went on a 4-0 run to get within four (20-16), but WSC used a 5-1 spurt to win 25-17.

The Lancers dominated from start to finish in the second set as they jumped out 15-5 and never looked back with the 25-10 victory.

WSU started off the third in the same fashion with a 6-3 edge, but Framingham State soon knotted the score 6-6. The Blue and Gold eventually led 11-9, but the two teams went back and forth a couple of times before the Lancers held the 19-16 advantage. FSU tied the game up at 19-19 and again at 23-23, but it was the hosts who scored two consecutive points following a timeout to earn the win.

Westfield State 3, Framingham State 1

Senior Rachel Ryan (Westborough, MA) had a match-best 14 kills to help lead Westfield State to win in four sets over Framingham State. The two squads split the first two games with identical 26-24 wins – both coming in the form of come-from-behind victories – before the Owls won the final two sets 25-13 and 25-14.

Shaw collected 11 kills and four blocks, while Leonard posted totals of eight kills and eight blocks. Sophomore Alyssa Stankowski (Deerfield, MA) finished with 10 digs and five service aces, while junior Kerin DeGirolamo (N. Attleboro, MA) had a great all-around game with 15 assists, 11 digs and three blocks.

For the Rams, fourth-year Nicole Donofrio (Whitman, MA) put up 15 digs as Fernandes tallied a team-best nine kills. Goode recorded 25 digs, while freshman Maribeth Martin (Marstons Mills, MA) dished out 25 assists.

In the first set, Framingham State led by margins of 7-3, 11-5, 17-12 and 20-14. As the Rams led 20-16, Westfield State went on a 10-5 run to close out the match and earn the victory. Trailing 24-23, Leonard came up huge for the Owls as she tied the score on a solo block and then added back-to-back kills to clinch the 26-24 win.

The second frame was closely contested as it was a back and forth contest with no team holding on to more than a three point lead. Westfield State nursed a 24-22 advantage, but FSU scored four consecutive points with some solid serving by Goode.

With the match tied 1-1, the Owls ran their offense effectively while the Rams failed to get anything going on their own end of the floor. Both of the final sets were close contests early on, but the Westfield State used a pair of big spurts to post the 25-13 and 25-14 victories.

Release courtesy of WSU Sports Information.