WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State women's volleyball team was selected second overall in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll as voted on by the coaches around the league.
The Owls received three of the seven first-place votes and narrowly fell short of preseason-favorite Framingham State, which also totaled three votes for the top spot. Westfield collected 42 points, just two points lower than Framingham. The two teams met twice last year, with both games reaching a fifth set. The Owls won the regular season meeting on the road, while the Rams were victorious in the MASCAC semifinal game.
Westfield brings back a wealth of experience to a team that finished second in the conference regular season last year at a mark of 6-1. Sisters' Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) and Shawna Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) return upfront along with sophomore Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.). The 2021 All-Conference trio finished in the top three in kills for the team with McAndrews and Ashley Crowley ranking in the top ten of the conference. Shawna Crowley, who missed seven games last year due to injury, was able to quickly climb the leaderboards with a team-high 2.44 kills per set, including a season-high 20 kills in the conference semifinal match-up. She finished 11th overall in the MASCAC despite playing in just 22 matches.
The Owls top facilitator, Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.), and leading blocker Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) also join a Westfield unit that is in position to make a run for the program's sixth MASCAC Championship. Dangel-Garcia was second in the conference with 705 assists, while Bingham's 63 blocks positioned herself third in the league.
Westfield State opens the regular season in the Springfield Invitational Tournament where the Owls will play three games over the weekend beginning with the season opener on Friday against Springfield College at 5:00PM. The Owls will then face Rivier and Skidmore at 10:30AM and 1:00PM on Saturday with both games played at Springfield College.
For full women's volleyball preseason rankings, click HERE