Owls Volleyball Hosts Framingham in MASCAC Semifinal

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The second-seeded Westfield State University women's volleyball team will host third-seeded Framingham State tonight at 7:30 P.M. from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

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The winner of tonight's game will advance into the MASCAC Championship game and will face the winner of top-seeded Bridgewater State and fifth-seeded Worcester State who play tonight at 6:00 P.M.

The Owls earned the two seed after finishing the conference regular season slate at 7-1 and 15-10 overall. The Rams were 6-2 in league play and are currently 17-12 on the season. Framingham handled sixth-seeded Salem State in first round action, sweeping the Vikings 25-14, 25-18, 25-18 on Tuesday night.

In the regular season meeting between the two sides, the Owls controlled play by taking all three sets on the road 25-18, 25-19, 25-18. The victory coincided with the return of junior Lauren Carnes (Westfield, Mass.) who missed the previous nine games due to injury. She posted a game-high 13 kills in the match and has logged double figure kills in four of the last five games entering the tournament.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in 2023 where Framingham won a five-set thriller against the then top-seeded Owls.

Westfield has displayed a balanced scoring attack this year and will enter postseason play with a healthy squad after seeing several key players miss time throughout the season. Carnes has played in five straight games, totaling 69 kills during that span. Senior Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) also missed nine games due to injury early in the season but has been active for the stretch run after finishing second on the team in kills last year.

Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) and Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Pa.) are the team leaders in kills this year. Hanna leads the unit with 199 kills while Washkalavitch has 197 to go along with 182 digs. The offense has gone through setter Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) whose accounted for 80 percent of the team's assists, compiling 675 helpers which is second in the MASCAC.

In the back, Erica Majka (Agawam, Mass.) and Zurielys Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico) top the team in digs with Majka leading the way with 257 followed by Rivera with 234.

Up front, Shaneidy Hernandez (Springfield, Mass.) and Mary Heneghan (Round Rock, Texas) have formed a formidable duo at the net, ranking third and fourth in the MASCAC in total blocks.

For Framingham, the attention will be drawn to junior hitter Natalie Reynolds who leads the conference with 407 kills, which is 157 more than the next closest player in the MASCAC. Reynolds had a strong performance in the first-round win over Salem, registering 16 kills.

The Rams also have the leading assist getter in the league as Stella Bailey has set up 914 kill shots this year, nearly 85 percent of the team's assists. First-year defensive specialist Kristina Santiago-Alers leads the team with 434 digs, good for third in the MASCAC.

The 2025 MASCAC Championship game will be played on Saturday at the highest remaining seed. Stay tuned for further updates at WestfieldStateOwls.com.