Volleyball Drops 3-0 Decision to Framingham in MASCAC Opener

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Framingham State University volleyball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center. Framingham won the match by set scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-10.

The Rams improve to 4-5 on the season and 1-0 in the MASCAC, while the host Bears fall to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Junior middle hitter Brandey Rodriguez (Lawrence, Mass.) paced Framingham State with nine kills, a .444 hitting percentage, one ace and one solo block. Sophomore outside hitter Brandee Thomas (North Kingstown, R.I.) added nine kills and a .381 hitting percentage while senior outside hitter Deirdre Fay (Cornwall, N.Y.) tallied eight kills. Sophomore libero Alyssa Cafarelli (Peoria, Ariz.) checked in with a match-best 24 digs and three aces to go along with five assists. Sophomore setter Morgan Failla (Providence, R.I.) contributed 23 assists, six digs and an ace.

Junior setter Casey Holmes (Norton, Mass.) led the way for Bridgewater State with a match-high 25 assists to go along with seven digs, two blocks (one solo), one ace and one kill. Freshman libero Victoria Caiano (New Bedford, Mass.) registered 19 digs and an ace, while junior outside hitter Abigail Gardner (Holden, Mass.) notched 11 digs and four kills. Junior outside hitter Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished with nine kills, while senior middle hitter Shannon Grindle (Halifax, Mass.) and junior defensive specialist Maggie Czarniak (Kingston, Mass.) recorded seven kills apiece. Grindle was making her season debut.

After Framingham posted a 25-14 victory in opening set, the Rams and the Bears were locked up in a tightly contested second frame. With the score tied at 16-16, the Rams took advantage of five BSU attacking errors and received two kills apiece from Fay and freshman middle hitter Hailey Sanders (Franklin, Mass.) to pull out the 25-22 win.

The third set was never in doubt as the Rams cruised to the 25-10 decision and a sweep of the match.

Framingham held the clear advantage on the attack as the Rams finished with 41 kills and just ten attacking errors (.284 hitting %). The Bears notched 30 kills and 23 attacking errors, and recorded a .060 hitting percentage.

The two teams combined for just five serving errors on the evening. Framingham tallied six aces and three serving errors, while Bridgewater posted two aces and two serving errors.

The Bears travel to Westfield State University on Saturday for a noontime MASCAC match with the Owls. The Rams host New England College on Thursday night at seven.