Owls Secure MASCAC Regular Season Title After Sweep of Fitchburg

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) registered a game-high nine kills and added two block assists to lead Westfield State to a sweep over Fitchburg State (25-14, 25-14, 25-12) in the MASCAC regular season finale from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

The win for the Owls secures the MASCAC regular season title in outright fashion, finishing the conference slate with a 7-0 record and a 14-12 overall mark. The Falcons fall to 1-6 in the conference and 5-18 on the year.

The Owls, who clinched the top seed in the 2024 MASCAC Tournament with last week's win over Worcester State, will host a MASCAC Semifinal matchup on Thursday, November 14 at 7:00pm against an opponent to be determined from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

Four Westfield players generated seven or more kills in a balanced attack with Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) and Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) each collecting eight kills.

Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) followed with seven kills and continued to display her two-way ability for Westfield as she piled up 20 receptions while only tallying one error. For the season, Cummins leads the Owls with 429 receptions and has only recorded 18 errors across 24 matches and 83 sets.  

Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) and Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) split the facilitating responsibilities as usual for the Owls with Dangel-Garcia logging 18 assists while Dority contributed 13. Seven Owls dug out three or more Falcons attacking plays with Chloe Schuld (Sycamore, Ill.) and Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Penn.) each recording eight digs.

Bingham pushed her total blocks number up to 84 after one solo block and three block assists. Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores Mich.) led all players with four aces.

Sariah Dyer (Raynham, Mass.) paced the Falcons with a team-leading eight kills. Gabrielle Griffiths (Sasebo, Japan) and Gwynneth Norman (Keene, N.H.) followed with three kills each. Mia Vestal (Wilmington, Mass.) added ten assists and Sydney Nortelus (Cambridge, Mass.) and Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.) both had six digs.

The Owls got out to an early six-point lead in set one with a kill from Cummins giving Westfield a 14-8 advantage. The Falcons crept back into the set in the midway stages after a Norman kill cut the Owls lead to four. However, Westfield would pull away from that point forward, scoring eight of the next ten points with Hanna Nihill jumpstarting the run with a kill. Washkalavitch and Emma Nihill punctuated the run with consecutive kills, pushing the Owls lead to nine where they would ultimately finish the set.

Another strong start out of the gates from Westfield amounted to six of the frame's first seven points with Washkalavitch capping the run with a service ace. Westfield would build the lead into double digits by scoring five straight points within the service game of Dangel-Garcia, opening a 16-4 lead.

Fitchburg battled in the beginning of the third set after an ace from Madison Keohane (Wakefield, Mass.) put the Falcons in front 7-5. Bingham equalized the set with back-to-back kills, then the Owls raced ahead by tallying seven straight points with Emma Nihill notching three consecutive slams to take a 12-7 lead and force a Fitchburg timeout. Three additional Owls points were scored out of the stoppage, putting the game out of reach.

Stay tuned for updated MASCAC women's volleyball postseason coverage including the Owls opponent which will be announced after MASCAC first round games on Tuesday, November 12 as Westfield received a first-round bye to go along with the top seed. Fitchburg State will enter the MASCAC Tournament as the sixth seed.