MCLA and Worcester State are moving on to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Volleyball Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday evening.

#3 MCLA 3, #6 Fitchburg State 1    Box Score

North Adams, MA- The MCLA Volleyball team took a four set decision from Fitchburg State tonight at the Amsler Campus Center 25-15, 25-11, 20-25, 25-13. With the win MCLA improves to 16-7 (5-2 MASCAC) and advances to the semi-final round of the MASCAC Tournament where they will travel to #2 seed Westfield State on Thursday evening. With the loss Fitchburg State finishes its season with a 5-15 (2-5 MASCAC) mark.

The Trailblazers got off to a strong start in the opening set jumping out to a 14-6 lead forcing a Falcon timeout after a 3-point run that featured kills by Anais Badio and Julia Graham. MCLA kept up the pressure and Fitchburg State was not able to get any closer than seven points as the Trailblazers would go on to win the set 25-15.

It was more of the same in the second set and this time it was back-to-back kills by Elizabeth Brown and Chloie Garber to make it 13-6 that would lead to a Falcon timeout. MCLA would close out the set on a 12-5 run to go up 2-0 in the match.

Fitchburg State refused to go away quietly and went toe to toe with MCLA in the fourth set. Neither team had a lead of greater than three points until a Trailblazer attack error put the Falcons up 20-16. The Trailblazers would trim the lead to one at 20-19 following a Shannon O'Brien service ace but the Falcons would hold on with a Sariah Dyer kill giving Fitchburg State the set, 25-20.

MCLA would bounce back in the fourth set jumping out to an early 7-1 lead before pulling away from the Falcons leading by as many as thirteen at 20-7. From there the Trailblazers would cruise to a 25-13 fourth set win and take the match 3-1.

MCLA was led by Chloie Garber with 15 kills and 18 digs, while Anais Badio (11 kills), Elizabeth Brown (9 kills, 13 digs), Ellie Walter-Goodspeed (27 digs) and Shannon O'Brien (44 assists) all had a strong match.

Fitchburg State was led by Samantha Mirra (8 kills, 11 digs), Emily Gelinas (14 digs, 16 assists) and Stephanie Sardella (6 kills, 13 digs).

MCLA will travel to Westfield State to take on the #2 seed Owls on Thursday evening at 7pm in the semi-final round of the MASCAC Tournament.

#4 Worcester State 3, #5 Bridgewater State 0   Box Score

Worcester, MA- Back on Sept. 28, the Worcester State University Lancers hosted the Bridgewater State University Bears in a tightly-contested, five-set Lancer victory. Tonight, the two teams met in Worcester once again in a postseason rematch as the fourth-and-fifth-seeded teams in the MASCAC. With a spot in the second-round on the line, Worcester State was able to outmatch Bridgewater, coming away with a 3-0 match sweep. 

The Lancers had complete control of the first set, getting off to a quick 4-0 lead, and scoring 10 of the first 13 points forcing Bridgewater to take an early timeout down 10-3. Unfortunately for the Bears, their timeout lacked little long standing momentum. After scoring the first point following the brief break, they fell behind and watched Worcester State pull away with an easy win. Worcester State commanded the remainder of the set, running away with a 25-10 win heading into the second. 

Worcester State carried their momentum over into the second set, immediately taking the first point, and taking a whole lot more, as the set went on. Bridgewater State was forced to take a timeout while down 12-4, and then again when the score was 17-8 in Worcester's favor. Erin Gaffney, a senior out of Worcester, Mass., had a fantastic set and played a pivotal role in the 

Lancer's 25-15 win. Though the difference in score was great, the final point provided plenty of excitement, as the Lancers and Bears volleyed back and forth with fantastic lunging digs on both sides of the net, ultimately ending in the Lancer's set-clinching point. 

The third set provided just about all of the evening's drama, with the Bears and Lancers in an absolute dogfight. Gone were the big leads of the first two sets as neither team pulled away throughout the battle. Once the game was knotted up at 8-8 neither team held a lead larger than three, and once the Bears took a 13-12 lead, they would not fall behind for quite some time. Worcester State finally got ahead of Bridgewater in the dying moments of the set. Tied at 22, the Lancers were able to win three of the last four vollies to punch their ticket to the second round of the MASCAC playoffs. 

Bridgewater State was led offensively by freshman Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, NH), and defensively by junior Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.). 

Bridgewater finishes their 2022 season with a MASCAC record of 3-4, and an overall record of 9-11. Worcester State will travel to Framingham State on Thursday night for a 7:15 p.m. game against the #1 seeded Rams, a team that ended the Lancer's season last year.

Releases courtesy of MCLA and Worcester State Sports Information