Worcester State Volleyball Splits at Worcester City Tournament

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State volleyball team overcame a tough 3-1 loss against Clark University in the first round of the Worcester City Tournament, but then came back and won the second game by shutting out Becker College 3-0.

Game One: Clark University 3, Worcester State 1

Clark University punched its ticket to the finals of the Worcester City Volleyball Tournament by taking down Worcester State University, 3-1. The Cougars dropped the third set before prevailing 25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16.

Clark got a great all-around performance from sophomore Marina Ramos as she produced a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Rookie Ana Mercado led all players with match-highs of 17 kills and six aces. Setter Rachel Webb led the way with 41 assists while libero Mia Cattaneo produced 25 digs.

For Worcester State, a trio of Lancers led the team in kills, including senior Meghan Deighan (Lynnfield, Mass.), junior Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.), and junior Jamika Townsend (Virginia Beach, Va.), with 6-5-5, respectively. Hoyle claimed a .444 attack percentage against the Cougars. On the defensive end, freshman Elexi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) battled and recorded 15 digs.

"We played a tough Clark team and couldn't seem to get anything going offensively," said head coach, Bernie Chase. "The team fought hard to win the third set but couldn't win the match.  Jamika lead the team in assists and was solid on defense."

A five-point service run by Webb put away the first set for the Cougars. Clark held a slim 18-15 lead in the second set, but closed on a 7-3 run to win the set. After Worcester State fought back to win the third set, Clark put the fourth set and the match away with an early 11-3 run.

Game Two: Worcester State University 3, Becker College 0

After dropping their first match of the day, Worcester State University came back to defeat the host Becker College Hawks, 3-0, in the consolation game of the Worcester City Volleyball Tournament. After a close first set, the Lancers prevailed 25-22, 25-10, 25-12. Worcester State improved to 2-1 on the year while Becker dropped to 1-3.

"The Becker match was truly a team effort as every player got to play," said head coach Bernie Chase.

Junior Jamika Townsend (Worcester City Tournament All-Tournament Team) sparked the Lancers with four kills, a match-high 13 assists and nine digs.  Freshman Caleigh Davis (Acushnet, Mass.) added six kills and four aces. As a team, Worcester State had 18 aces. Freshman Elexi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) led the way defensively with 11 digs.

Topping the Hawks offensively was junior Marissa Turner with a match-high eight kills. Freshman Kayla Dupree added four kills and four aces. Sophomore setter Charlene Landry contributed 13 assists.

The Lancers battled back from deficits of 15-3 and 20-14 to win the first set. Townsend served six straight points to tie the set at 20-20. Becker reclaimed the lead, 22-20, but committed four errors in five points to give WSU the set.

Next Saturday, the Worcester State volleyball squad will head to Middletown, Conn. to compete in the Wesleyan Invitational. The first game is set for Sep. 12 at 10:00 a.m.

Worcester City Volleyball All-Tournament Team

Jamika Townsend, Worcester State

Samantha Cauette, Becker

Brook Klepper, WPI

Cassandra Tomerlin, WPI

Marina Ramos, Clark

Rachel Webb, Clark

MVP: Ana Mercado

Release Courtesy Becker Sports Information