Volleyball Opens MASCAC Play with Loss to Westfield State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The MCLA Volleyball Team kicked off the MASCAC portion of their schedule this evening when they welcomed the Westfield State Owls to the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. The Owls had a trio of players tie with a pair of Trailblazers with a game-high 12 kills each, but the standout number for the night was Westfield's Emily Washkalavitch with seven service aces.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024

• Score: Westfield 3, MCLA 1
• Records: Westfield State Owls 5-9 (MASCAC 1-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 3-11 (MASCAC 0-1)
• Series History: Westfield State leads the all-time series 42-4 with four unknown results. Westfield State took the last meetings between the teams 3-2 on September 26, 2023, in Westfield. The teams first met on November 24, 1975.

HIGHLIGHTS

• MCLA took the first set by a score of 27-25 on the strength of eight kills from senior right-side Chloie Garber (Eagle River, AK) and a pair of service aces by junior outside hitter Elizabeth Brown (Lee, MA). The first set showed ten tie scores and four lead changes before ending on a block from sophomore middle hitters Makenna Carter (Averill Park, NY) and Caroline Schmaling (Halifax, MA).
• Westfield would take the three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-16, and 25-21.
• The Owls had a trio of players (Emma Nihill, Sarah Bingham, and Sydney Cummins), while the Trailblazers had a pair of players (Garber and Brown) all finish with a game-high 12 kills each.
• A pair of players for Westfield also cracked the 20-assist barrier, with Morgan Dority picking up a game-high 25 assists, and Julia Dangel-Garcia was right on her heels with 24. MCLA was led by junior setter Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, CT) with 16 assists.
• On the defensive side, it was senior libero Ezmeralda Albright (Loves Park, IL) of MCLA and Westfield's Chloe Schuld setting the pace with 20 digs each while the Owls' Sarah Bingham had five blocks (two solo and three assisted).

UP NEXT:

On Friday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Anna Maria College for a non-conference matchup with the AMCATS at the Fuller Activities Center. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.