By Sophia Oppedisano Sports Editor By Kyra Tolley Staff Writer After a strong end to the season with two consecutive sweeps, the volleyball team lost 3-0 in the MASCAC semifinals. The Rams closed out their season in third place out of the eight MASCAC teams. Their final overall record is 13-16, and their conference record is 4-3. They played their last regular season match at home with a 3-0 sweep against the Salem State Vikings Nov. 9 and began their playoff run against Mass. Maritime Academy Buccaneers Nov. 12 at home with a 3-0 sweep in the MASCAC Quarterfinals. The Rams traveled to Bridgewater State to compete in the MASCAC Semifinals, where they fell to the Bears three sets to none. Rams vs. Vikings The Rams defeated the Vikings 3-0 at home in the final conference game of the regular season Nov. 9. The first three points of the game went to Framingham, but the teams then alternated points until the score reached 6-3 in favor of the Rams. Captain Stella Bailey, a junior, contributed assists to sophomore Natalie Reynolds, who had many kills early in the match. The Bailey-to-Reynolds connection created a total of 17 points during the three sets. An assist from Bailey led to a skillful tip of the ball over the net by Reynolds and gave Framingham the advantage with a score of 10-7. The Rams gained two more points with a service ace by sophomore Emma Dobbins and a kill from Reynolds. Framingham stayed consistent limiting their errors during play, while the Vikings struggled with hit and receive errors. Even when Salem gained points, the errors put the Rams further ahead. The two teams went back and forth scoring two or three points at a time before letting the opposition score the same, until Bailey stepped up to serve. Bailey pushed the momentum in favor of the Rams with three service aces in a row that brought Framingham to an 8-point lead. A decisive move by Bailey gave the Rams their 22nd point when she wound up to strike the ball over the net, but at the last second tipped the ball to her left to find sophomore Jamie Moniz, who got the kill. The set concluded with a kill by Reynolds to win the set for Framingham 25-17. Reynolds’ final kill of the set brought her career kill count to 600 kills. The next two sets brought the total to 610. Framingham gained 3 points to start the second set, including a service ace by Dobbins. Following 3 points for Salem, the Rams made offensive plays and Captain Carly Beaulieu, a junior, provided a service ace to put Framingham in the lead 7-3. After both teams made errors, effectively giving the opposition points, Salem seemed to turn the tide with several kills, but Framingham kept up the intensity and responded with their own kills to stay in the lead 14-9. Framingham quickly tallied 4 points in a row by forcing attack errors from Salem and setting up Moniz for a kill. Reynolds left Salem’s defense scrambling with a powerful attack that resulted in too many touches for the Vikings, bringing the score to 20-12 in favor of Framingham. Salem was only able to get to 15 points before the Rams finished out the set. The Rams took the set 25-15. The third set began with 4 of the first 5 points going to Framingham. Beaulieu contributed another service ace to the team’s score. The set was fairly even, with each team gaining a couple of points at a time, but the Rams soon ran away with the lead. The Vikings gained a few points, but Reynolds contributed four kills, bringing the Rams’ lead to 17-8. Framingham’s win was finalized when the set closed out with three attack errors by Salem to end the third set with a score of 25-12. Both Beaulieu and sophomore Anneli DiVirgilio finished the match with 11 digs each and sophomore Jaimee Lowe contributed 7 digs. Reynolds said of her 610 career kills, “I couldn’t get all those numbers without the back row passing and the setter setting, so I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates.” Heading into the playoffs off the back of a championship win last season, Beaulieu said, “That was probably the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life - winning. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s indescribable. “It really sets the tone that we were the champions and it lets other teams know that, so I think that fires us up,” she added. Rams vs. Buccaneers The third-seed Rams opened their playoff run in the MASCAC Tournament Quarterfinals at home against the sixth-seed Mass. Maritime Buccaneers Nov. 12. As last year’s MASCAC Champions, the Rams made a statement in their three-set sweep of the Buccaneers, the first crucial step in defending their title and earning another ring. The first set opened with a bang as Reynolds smashed a kill into a hole in the Buccaneer defense. From there, the Rams never gave up the lead. Service aces from Beaulieu, Dobbins, and Lowe contributed to the Rams’ 16-8 lead. Mass. Maritime called a timeout and attempted to catch the Rams’ lead with service aces and an attack error on the Rams, making the score 16-12. Their efforts would be futile as kills from Moniz, Dobbins, and freshman Hope Verhoeven cleared the way for a winning service ace from DiVirgilio. The Rams took the set 25-17. Bailey assisted every kill in the first set, contributing 40 out of all 42 assists across all three sets. Bailey is in her third season of playing with the Rams and has amassed 2,198 assists so far across all three seasons. Her energy on the court is unmatched as she ‘sets’ her teammates up for success. The Buccaneers got off to a quick start in the second set, but the Rams matched them point for point until they ran away with the lead. A kill by Reynolds brought the Rams to a 16-10 lead. Reynolds led the team with 13 kills, followed closely by 11 from Verhoeven, who boosted the lead to 21-14. Freshman Sarah Medeiros continued to freeze the Buccaneers' defense as she collected a kill before DiVirgilio set Lowe up for a kill to secure the set 25-18. With one win separating them from advancing to the semi-finals, the Rams stepped up for the third set. The Buccaneers put up a fight, matching the Rams point for point until the score was tied 8-8. Moniz decisively took the lead with a kill, one of her six of the night. From there, a series of attack errors cost the Buccaneers and Medeiros, Dobbins, and Reynolds continued to strike with kills, assisted by Bailey. DiVirgilio tallied another service ace. The score was 14-8 when Mass. Maritime called a timeout. The Rams maintained their lead and freshman Madysen Cedrone got down for a dig that fed the ball to Bailey for a kill from Reynolds. Cedrone’s excitement was palpable as she smacked the court before joining the team huddle. She led the team with 13 digs in the match. Medeiros tallied another kill to bring the lead to 19-10. The Rams made quick work of the rest of the set, supported with kills from Moniz, Verhoeven, and Medeiros. They ultimately won the set 25-15, completing their sweep of the Buccaneers. Rams vs. Bears The Rams traveled to play the Bridgewater State University Bears Nov. 14 for the MASCAC Semifinals. Due to Framingham’s win over Bridgewater during the 2023 MASCAC Championships, this was expected to be a competitive matchup. Despite how back and forth each set was, the match ended in a 3-0 win for Bridgewater. The Rams started each set strong by winning multiple points, but they weren’t able to hold off Bridgewater’s offense for long. DiVirgilio held down the Rams’ defense with 22 digs during the match, Verhoeven led their offense with 11 kills, and Bailey contributed 20 assists on the day. The Bears only won each set by a 5-point margin, but were still able to clinch the win and a spot in the MASCAC Championship match for the second year in a row. Bailey said, “We have had a champion mindset all year long and truly had our eyes set on that championship. “It’s heartbreaking to say the least, but it lights a fire under [us],” she added. She said the team is going to focus on everything that will push them to be better and work harder. “We have laser focus on next season and we’re using the pain of this loss as fuel,” she said.