2015 Volleyball News
Fitchburg State University Director of Athletics Sue Lauder today announced the appointment of Victor Wirkkala of Lancaster as the school's women's volleyball head coach.
Bridgewater State University Director of Athletics, Dr. Marybeth Lamb, announced today that Ally Murphy has been named the new head coach of the Bears’ women’s volleyball program.
Fitchburg State University Athletic Director Sue Lauder announced today that the school plans to add women's volleyball this coming fall as its 17th varsity athletics program. Fitchburg State had sponsored women's volleyball as one of its NCAA Division III sports as recently as 2003 before it and two men's programs were discontinued due to budgetary considerations.
A total of 674 student-athletes have been honored by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with selection to the league’s Fall 2015 All-Academic Team that was released earlier today by Commissioner Angela Baumann.
Framingham State's Alycia Rackliffe and MCLA's Allison Clark earn Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Star Team accolades while MCLA's coach Amanda Beckwith was named the ECAC DIII New England Coach of the Year as announced by the organization.
46 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) student-athletes have been recognized for their outstanding sportsmanship as members of the 2015 Fall Sportsmanship Team.
There was a time, after her freshman season at Eastern Connecticut State, when Sarah Leonard thought her volleyball career had come to an end.
After the completion of the fall regular season, Westfield State has the lead in the first round of the Howard C. Smith Cup standings. The Smith Cup is awarded annually to the member institution which compiles the most points based on the placement of each of its programs competing in the 15 league championship sports. After the completion of the fall regular season, Westfield State has the lead in the first round of the Howard C. Smith Cup standings. The Smith Cup is awarded annually to the member institution which compiles the most points based on the placement of each of its programs competing in the 15 league championship sports.
The MCLA Volleyball program will get a chance to continue their historic season when they host the semifinal and final rounds of the ECAC New England Championships in the Amsler Campus Center Gym. The Trailblazers were awarded the second seed in the championship as the Endicott College Gulls are the top seeded team. Rounding out the field is third seeded Lesley College and fourth seeded Anna Maria College. Beginning Saturday at 11am will be top seeded Endicott battling fourth seeded Anna Maria. MCLA will then take the floor at 1pm taking on Lesley. The two winners will square off 30 minutes following the completion of that match. The Trailblazers entered last weekend's MASCAC tournament as the top seed, however they fell to Framingham State in the finals. MCLA has already set a school record for victories this season as they are currently 23-10 entering the championship. The Trailblazers are making their second straight ECAC appearance in the tournament. MCLA fell to Salve Regina in last year's quarterfinal round. The top seeded Endicott Gulls enter the tournament at 22-10 having fallen in the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinal round to Gordon College by a 3-2 score. The Gulls finished second in the conference tied with Gordon before dropping the postseason tilt. The third seed is Lesley College out of the New England Collegiate Conference. The Lynx went 7-1 in conference play with their only loss to eventual champion Regis College. Lesley lost a five setter to Regis in the NECC Championship game and will enter the ECAC tournament at 16-9 overall. The fourth seed is Anna Maria College. The Amcats have already played the Trailblazers in 2015 having dropped a 3-1 decision in October. AMC is 17-15 overall and lost to Emmanual in the GNAC quarterfinal last week.
The Framingham State Rams volleyball team will take on the College of Brockport Golden Eagles in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament which begins on Friday.
Alycia Rackliffe of Framingham State and Lizzie Taylor of Westfield State are the MASCAC Volleyball Player and Rookie of the Week after competing in the MASCAC Tournament over the weekend.
After winning their volleyball semifinal against Westfield State earlier in the day, Framingham State claimed the 2015 MASCAC Tournament Championship over MCLA to earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Alycia Rackliffe of Framingham State has been named the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year and headlines the All-Conference team which is voted on by coaches from around the conference.
The Bridgewater State Bears and Westfield State Owls have advanced to the MASCAC Volleyball Semifinals on Saturday after winning their respective quarterfinal contests on Wednesday night.
For the second time this season, the duo of Allison Clark of MCLA and Lizzie Taylor of Westfield State are the MASCAC Volleyball Player and Rookie of the Week.
The MCLA Trailblazers have claimed the top seed in the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball tournament which will begin with the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, November 4.
