By Matt Ferris
Framingham State traveled to Emmanuel College to take on the Saints in a nonconference match on Oct. 26.
The first set was a seesaw battle with both teams going back and forth for the entire set. With 10 different ties throughout the set, Framingham finally broke away in the last part of the set, winning two consecutive points for a 27-25 set win. The Rams had 19 kills in the set and committed six errors.
The second was more of the same with another back-and-forth set that saw nine different ties
throughout. Again, Framingham pieced together a run at the end to take the set. The Rams closed with a 4-0 run to win the set 25-19 and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Framingham converted on 10 kills and had three errors.
Framingham won the first two points in the third set and never looked back. The Rams held the lead for the entire set and went on to win 25-15 to take a 3-0 win. Framingham had 12 kills in the final set and committed four errors.
Kelly Brinkman and Brandey Rodriguez led the offensive attack for the Rams. Brinkman led the Rams with 12 kills and Rodriguez had 10.
Deirdre Fay and Victoria Anderson led the defense for Framingham. Both players had 14 digs each, and Fay also contributed seven kills.
The win helped the Rams advance to 13-16 on the season.
Framingham hosted Westfield State in a MASCAC game on Oct. 28.
The Owls jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the first set, but Framingham countered with a 6-2 run. The Rams gained a 7-5 lead. From this point, Framingham kept the lead for the rest of the set and went on to win 25-18.
The Rams opened the second set, winning the first two points, but Westfield came back to win the next two, tying it up. Framingham surged offensively for the rest of the set, cruising to a 25-12 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Rams had 12 kills in the set to only two errors.
The third set was all Framingham. The Rams opened the set, winning the first five points. Framingham followed with a 6-1 run to get up 11-1, before eventually going up 20-4. The Rams went on to win the set 25-11, winning the match 3-0.
Brinkman and Rodriguez again led the Rams offensively. They each had nine kills to lead the way for Framingham.
Mackenzie Whalen had a team-high 31 assists and also pitched in 11 digs. Fay contributed five kills and had 13 digs for the Rams.
With a win, Framingham moved to 14-16 on the season and improved to 5-2 in the conference.
On Oct. 28, Framingham hosted Wellesley College in the second half of a doubleheader and the regular season finale.
The first set started with both teams going back and forth. With the score tied at 7-7, Wellesley went on a 7-0 run to take control of the set. The Blue went on to win the set 25-15. Framingham had four kills in the set and committed seven errors.
The second set started the exact same way as the first. After back-and-forth play, the teams found themselves tied at nine. The Blue again went on a big run to seize control of the set. This time, it was a 9-2 run that put Wellesley in the driver’s seat. The Blue went on to take the set 25-15, taking a 2-0 lead. Framingham had seven kills to six errors in the second.
The Blue started the third set with a 10-3 run and never looked back. Wellesley cruised to a 25-11 win in the third to take the match 3-0. Framingham again had more errors than kills in the final set. The Rams had only three kills and committed 13 errors.
Grace Caughey led the Rams with eight kills and Anderson had a team-high 12 digs.
With the loss, the Rams finished the season with a record of 14-17.
With a 5-2 record in the MASCAC, Framingham earned the second seed in the conference tournament, giving them a bye into the semi-finals.