By Tyler Wahl
The Framingham State Volleyball team continued their strong close to the season against the Rhode Island College Anchormen in a 3-1 win Oct. 26.
The team pulled out a win in their match versus Fisher College Oct. 23, but unfortunately conceded to Connecticut College later that afternoon.
The team looked to snap back into their winning streak versus the Anchormen despite the absence of 18-year Head Coach Richard Casali.
The Rams looked good in the first set despite missing a few key players due to injury and the absence of the head coach.
The first set was hard fought and required a lot of great defense from the Rams to maintain a lead.
The Rams were able to pull out a win in the first set 25-19, but it didn’t come easily. RIC was not giving up on any ball, and their communication on the court and bench foreshadowed the second set.
The Anchormen quickly soared to a 7-0 lead and kept their foot on the pedal for the remainder of the set.
Although RIC outperformed the Rams in the second set, ultimately winning 25-21, the Rams showed an incredible amount of determination that would then snowball into the remaining sets.
“In the second set, we were down by 12. In rally scoring that’s almost insurmountable to come back from,” said Assistant Coach Brian Gerard.
Gerard praised his team for gaining the momentum they needed in the second set regardless of the score deficit.
He added, “When we called a timeout and discussed it – win, lose, or draw – we needed to build our momentum. From that timeout, we outscored them 11-2. We rolled into the third and rolled into the fourth. We did what we needed to do.”
The Rams came into the third set with the same energy they had during their near-comeback earlier, capitalizing on the Anchormen 15-12 halfway through the set.
Despite RIC’s timeouts, the Rams continued to build the momentum Gerard had mentioned. They finished off the set 25-21 to gain a 2-1 advantage.
The fourth set showed what happens when the team’s momentum reaches its highest peak as they raced to a 10-2 lead within minutes of the first whistle.
RIC called multiple timeouts in an attempt to halt the Rams forward momentum, but nothing could stop the team at this point in the match. The Rams finished off the set with a dominating 25-10 win.
Junior Brandee Thomas Mnished with a team best 19 digs in the match, and sophomore Emily Flaherty added two aces and 12 digs for the Rams.
Assistant Coach Chelle Manganello still seemed focused after the match adding, “All this win tonight meant is that we’re getting ready for our last league match of the season on Saturday. Saturday is the difference between first, second, and third. This game prepared us for that.”
The Volleyball team will take on the Worcester State Lancers in their last league match Oct. 30.