Owls Volleyball Top Seed in MASCAC Tourney, Hosts Semifinal Game on Thursday Night
Earning the top seed and first round bye, the Owls finished a perfect 7-0 in league play this season.
After winning their second straight outright MASCAC Regular Season title, Westfield State earned the top seed in the upcoming 2024 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament which begins on Tuesday with the quarterfinal round.
Up first #4 MCLA and #5 Worcester State will meet on Tuesday, November 12 at 6 pm while #3 Framingham State will host #6 Mass. Maritime at 7:30 pm in the quarterfinal round. The two quarterfinal winners will then face #1 Westfield State and #2 Bridgewater State with the lowest remaining seed facing the Owls and the Bears the remaining seed.
The semifinal winners will then meet on Saturday, November 16 for the MASCAC Tournament crown and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Earning the top seed and first round bye, the Owls finished a perfect 7-0 in league play this season. Newcomer Sydney Cummins finished the regular season strong for Westfield State with 216 kills (2.60 per set), 217 digs (2.61 per set), 20 total blocks and 20 service aces while finishing with double digit kills in 11 matches this season.
Grabbing the other first round bye is Bridgewater State who was 6-1 in MASCAC action. For the Bears, Lily Welch registered 176 kills (2.48 per set) with a .235 hitting percentage, 211 digs (2.97 per set), 41 total blocks and 22 service aces.
Framingham State has quarterfinal hosting duties with the third seed after going 4-3. Last season's MASCAC Rookie of the Year Natalie Reynolds has continued her success for the Rams, leading the conference in kills with 327 and kills per set at 3.41 while finishing third with a .259 hitting percentage and 8.66 attacks per set. She also had 36 total blocks and 62 digs at the end of the regular season.
MCLA lands in the fourth seed with the other quarterfinal duties after also finishing 4-3 in league competition. Ezmeralda Albright, in the libero spot, closed out the regular season first in the conference in digs (464) and digs per set (4.73) while also collecting 15 aces and 32 assists for the Trailblazers.
Rounding out the tournament field are Worcester State and Mass. Maritime in fifth and sixth, respectively. First year libero Katherine Crateau had the second-most total digs in the league with 426 while averaging 4.53 per set. She also collected 75 assists and 37 aces for the Lancers. Earning a spot in the tournament for the first time since 1996 are the Buccaneers, led by Shayla Narodowg who had 418 assists (4.80 per set) and 50 aces, all in the top five of the MASCAC. She also finished with 102 kills, 219 digs and 24 blocks.
At last year's MASCAC Volleyball Tournament Championship, #4 Framingham State defeated #3 MCLA in five sets for not only the conference crown but a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
-- press release courtesy of the MASCAC