Westfield, Mass.— 2022 MASCAC Volleyball Tournament Champions Westfield State are the preseason favorites to win the 2023 crown as voted on by the eight coaches around the league.

The Owls received four first place vote for 45 points. In 2022, they were 6-1 to take home a share of the MASCAC Regular Season title. Bridgette McAndrews returns after she registered the third-most kills on the unit with 161 while also supplying 111 digs this season. McAndrews was also second on the Owls with 32 service aces and earned All-Conference accolades.

Close behind in second with 44 points and three first place votes is Framingham State. The Rams were also 6-1 and regular season champs. Last season, Anna Szymanski earned MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year and her first All-Conference honors after helping the Rams to the top spot in the MASCAC Tournament. She closed out the year in the top two of the league in kills and kills per set at 350 and 3.30, respectively. She also collected 287 digs, 13 total blocks and 18 aces. 

Sitting in third place is Worcester State with 37 points. The Lancers were 4-3 last season and bring back 2022 MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year Camryn Burgio who led the MASCAC in total digs with 476 while finishing second in the league in digs per set at 4.29. She also tallied 167 kills, 44 assists, 41 aces and 23 blocks this season. 

With the final first place vote and 30 points is Bridgewater State. The Bears finished with three MASCAC wins last season. Victoria Caiano recorded a team-best 235 digs to go along with 26 aces, 66 assists and a pair of kills. She also ranked seventh in the MASCAC in digs per set (3.46).

Up next in fifth is MCLA with 29 points. Last season, the Trailblazers had a 5-2 mark in conference action. All-Conference honoree Chloie Garber led the MASCAC in kills per set (3.32) and finished second overall in total kills (292) and sixth in digs (294) during the 2022 season.

Fitchburg State is in the sixth spot with 19 points. Reigning MASCAC Rookie of the Year Stephanie Sardella looks to repeat her success from last season after she registered 171 kills (2.41 per set), 239 digs, 35 aces and 12 total blocks to become the first Falcon to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

Rounding out the 2023 poll is Salem State in seventh and Massachusetts Maritime in eighth. The Vikings had 13 points in the poll. Setter Eva Haralabatos collected 339 assists, 40 service aces, 160 digs and eight blocks last season. The Buccaneers tallied seven points and returning for them is Marlo Stark who registered 198 digs, 87 kills, 26 service aces and 10 assists on the season. 
   

The volleyball season gets underway September 1-2 with all eight MASCAC teams in non-conference action. Grab all the details at mascac.com and mascac.tv.