Volleyball seeded sixth in MASCAC tournament, will be at #3 Westfield State tomorrow
North Adams, MA- The MCLA Volleyball program has grabbed the sixth seed in this week's MASCAC Championship tournament. The Trailblazers begin play tomorrow night at 7pm when they head to #3 Westfield State at the Woodward Center. For the second straight year, Worcester State grabs the top seed.
The tournament format has changed this year with the quarterfinals being contested on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. First up is three seed Westfield State facing sixth seed MCLA at 7 pm while four seed Framingham State plays five seed Bridgewater State at 7:30 pm.
Hosting the winner of Framingham/Bridgewater on Thursday, November 1 in the semifinals at 6 pm is top seed Worcester State while second seed Salem State entertains the winner of Westfield/MCLA at 7 pm.
The championship matchup is scheduled for Saturday at the highest remaining seed.
6 MCLA vs. #3 Westfield State-
The Trailblazers will head to Westfield looking to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Owls back on October 9th. Westfield took the first two sets in that contest, dropped the third 27-25, but closed out MCLA with a 25-10 victory in the fourth. MCLA will have to find an answer for Owl attackers Hanna Simpkins, Brianna Starkey, and Ainsley MacLeod. The trio combined for 36 kills in their earlier matchup. Ally Rega was a handful for the Trailblazers as well as she collected 40 assists on the night.
For MCLA to improve on their earlier performance against the Owls, they'll have to improve their serve game as they were hurt by 13 service errors in the contest. The Trailblazers were balanced in the contest with the Owls, but were also short handed as they only dressed six players. Ahna Schlaefer led the team with 9 kills while Tessa Sestito notched 31 assists.
The game will be available at mascac.tv and live stats via athletics.mcla.edu
MASCAC Tournament-
With a perfect 7-0 record, Worcester State earned the regular season title, number one seed and a first round bye in the tournament. The reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Amari King netted 292 kills, 3.14 kills per set, 309 digs, 41 service aces and 29 total blocks with a .280 hitting percentage which are all in the top 10 statistically in the league.
Getting the other first round bye with the second seed is Salem State who was 5-2 during league action. Morgan Adams finished the season fourth in the MASCAC in total assists with 487, assists per set at 5.94 and service aces with 41. She also collected 137 digs and 14 total blocks.
Westfield State claims the third seed with a 5-2 clip in conference action. Jess Haradon tallied 4.46 digs per set and 348 digs, the second and third-highest marks in the league. She also netted 43 assists and 16 service aces.
The fourth seed belongs to Framingham State who was 4-3 during MASCAC play this season. In her first year with the Rams, Brandee Thomas leds the conference in kills (3.18) and kills per set (331) while adding 70 digs and 13 blocks plus a .217 hitting percentage at the end of the regular season.
Finishing out the 2018 tournament field with the fifth and sixth seed are Bridgewater State and MCLA. The Bears had a 4-3 record at the conclusion of league competition. Sydney Rice tallied 91 kills with a .247 hitting percentage, 31 total blocks, 27 digs and 12 service aces on the year. The Trailblazers finished with two wins during MASCAC action. Sara LaFreniere led the team with 182 kills while also netting 203 digs, 36 service aces, 17 assists and eight blocks.
At last year's MASCAC Tournament Championship, number one seeded Worcester State defeated second seed Framingham State, 3-1, to win their first conference tourney title and secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.