Volleyball Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. – 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.

Kicking off the tournament with the quarterfinals on Wednesday will be fourth-seeded Bridgewater State hosting fifth-seeded Salem State at 6 pm while third-seeded Westfield State entertains sixth-seeded Worcester State at 7 pm.

The winner of Bridgewater State/Salem State will face off with top-seeded MCLA on Saturday in the first semifinal game at 11 am on Saturday, November 7. Second-seeded Framingham State will play the winner of Westfield State/Worcester State in the second semifinal at 1 pm. The two semifinal winners will then face each other Saturday afternoon for the title of MASCAC champion.

Earning the top seed and a first round bye, the Trailblazers claimed a share of their first MASCAC regular season title with a 5-1 record in MASCAC play. Leading the way for MCLA is Allison Clark who leads the conference in kills per set at 4.06, hitting percentage at .351 and second in total kills with 402. She also collected 302 digs and 53 total blocks.

Landing the second seed and the other first round bye, Framingham State finished the conference season with a 5-1 record to earn a share of the regular season championship. Alycia Rackliffe had a solid season for the Rams with a conference leading 410 kills while sitting in second in kills per set (4.06), hitting percentage (.331) and blocks per set (0.82).

Westfield State is the third seed with four wins during the MASCAC schedule. Kendyl Haney led the team with 238 total kills while also tallying 2.90 kills per set and seven blocks while freshman Lizzie Taylor led the conference with 505 digs and 65 service aces.

Finishing with three MASCAC wins this season, Bridgewater State earned the fourth seed in next week's tournament. Charleyne Panner is first in the league in assists with 904 while also netting 212 digs and 37 service aces.

Rounding out the tournament field are Salem State and Worcester State in fifth and sixth seed, respectively. The Vikings tallied two wins during the conference schedule. Emily Peay led the squad with 209 kills while adding 198 digs and 58 total blocks. The Lancers also collected two wins this season and were led my Jennifer Cabral who finished with 250 kills, 349 digs and 24 services aces.

During the 2014 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament, Framingham State defeated Worcester State in straight sets, 3-0, to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.