Volleyball Wins Second Straight MASCAC Tournament Title
North Adams, Mass. – The Framingham State University volleyball team captured their second straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament title with a 3-0 victory over top seed MCLA in the championship game this afternoon.
With the win, the Rams improve to 25-8 on the year and receive the MASCAC's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships. Pairings and seeding for the tournament will be announced on Monday, November 9th at 11 a.m. on NCAA.com.
Junior right side Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.), the 2015 MASCAC Player of the Year, was named the tournament most valuable player after averaging 21 kills and 18.5 digs per match in the tournament. Rackliffe recorded 20 kills with 18 digs, two aces and four blocks in the championship match.
Junior Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.) just missed a double double in the final match as she recorded nine kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Senior Annie DeLoid (Plymouth, Mass.) chipped in with 15 digs, while classmate Danielle Girard (Tivoli, NY) added 14. Sophomore Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.) chipped in with 30 set assists, 15 digs and two aces.
With the first set tied at 18-18, the Rams outscored the Trailblazers 7-3 to close out the set and take the first set 25-21. The Rams led 18-13 in the second, before MCLA came back with an 11-3 run to take a 24-22 lead. The Rams would not go away as Rackliffe closed the set with four straight kills to give the Rams a 26-24 victory. The Rams sealed the tournament with a 25-21 triumph in the third.
The Trailblazers were led by 11 kills from Allison Clark who also added 15 digs. Brittney Pihl led the defensive effort with a match-best 31 kills, while Angelica Perfido chipped in with 17.
The Trailblazers suffered their first home loss of the season as they slip to 23-10 on the year and await word of a possible ECAC Tournament berth.
The Rams advanced to the championship game by defeating third seed Westfield State University 3-1 in semifinal action earlier in the day. With the win, the Rams advanced to play top seeded MCLA who had defeated Bridgewater State in the other semifinal, while Westfield ends their season at 15-16.
Framingham cruised in the opening set behind the trio of Rackliffe, Deloid, and Girard as they combined for 17 kills in the 25-16 set win. Westfield would take the second set as they battled past the Rams by a score of 25-23. Casey Doremus had five kills in game two for the Owls.
The Owls led much of the third set; however they ultimately fell by a 25-22 score. In the fourth and deciding set, Westfield held a 20-15 advantage forcing a Ram timeout. From there, Rackliffe took over collecting a pair of aces as FSU rattled off five straight points to tie the set. They kept the momentum going and finished off the set 25-22.
Rackliffe ended the match with a double double effort of 22 kills and 19 digs, while Wan finished with 11 kills and Girard added 10. Girard also recorded 24 digs, while Leonard had 19. Leonard set up the offense to the tune of 51 assists in the win.
For the Owls, Shannon Shea totaled 16 kills, while Kendyl Haney added 11. Shea finished the double double effort with 22 digs. Lizzie Taylor was outstanding with a match-high 36 digs and three aces, while Courtney Ryan finished with 40 assists.
Portions of release courtesy of MCLA Sports Information