By Camille McKenzie
The Framingham State Rams took on the Westfield State Owls on Saturday, Nov. 4 in the MASCAC Tournament Semi4nals at Worcester State.
Going into the game, the Rams were seeded second and the Owls were seeded third.
The Rams lost their 4rst two sets of the match. They lost 25-18 in the 4rst set and 25-23 in the second.
Framingham came back to win three straight sets, earning them a 3-2 victory in the match. The three sets scores were 25-15, 25-19 and 15-13.
Kelly Brinkman led the Rams in kills, with 18 in the match. Brandey Rodriguez followed with 17 kills, Deidre Fay had 13, while Alexandra Fish and Michaela Cronin each had 10.
Fay led Framingham in digs, with 34 throughout the match. Victoria Anderson followed with 26, Fish with 23, Whalen with 15, and Brenna Marquis had 12. Whalen totaled 62 assists for the match.
The Rams beat the Owls 3-2, ending West4eld’s season. The Owls end their season 13-16.
This win advanced the Rams to play the number one seed, Worcester State, later that day, in the MASCAC Final.
In the final, Worcester and Framingham split the first two sets, each winning one, but the Lancers came back and won the next two, to win the MASCAC title 3-1.
Worcester improved to 26-8 on the season. The Lancers earned the MASCAC’s automatic bid for the 2017 NCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament.
For Framingham, Fish led for kills, with 13 in the match. Brinkman tallied 11, while Fay and Rodriguez had nine.
Because of the Lancers’ high offensive intensity, Framingham had to compete with strong defense.
Anderson led the team with 26 digs, Fish had 20, Fay had 19, and Whalen contributed 18.
Framingham’s season ended with a record of 15-18.
With the loss in the MASCAC 4nal, the Rams failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 3 years.
Brinkman received the MASCAC Rookie of the Year award and also earned a spot on the first team all MASCAC.
Whalen joined Brinkman on the first team all MASCAC, while Anderson made second team all MASCAC.