FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Fourth seeded Framingham State University defeated fifth seeded Bridgewater State University, 3-0, in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday night at the Athletic Center. The host Rams won by set scores of 34-32, 25-21 and 25-19.

The Rams improve tp 17-14 on the season and advance to the tournament's semifinal round. Framingham will take on top-seeded Worcester State University on Thursday evening at six.

The visiting Bears end the 2018 campaign with an overall record of 5-16.

The Rams came out on top of a marathon first set that saw neither team lead by more than five. Tied at 25-25, the two teams traded points with one team going ahead and the other tying the set right back up.  A service error by Framingham tied the set at 32-32, but back-to-back kills from sophomore Brandey Rodriguez (Lawrence, Mass.) and freshman Brandee Thomas (North Kingstown, R.I.) gave the Rams the first set victory.

In the second, the Rams opened up an 8-1 lead before the Bears came roaring back to take the lead, 15-13. Junior Erin Clifford (Hanson, Mass.) and sophomore Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) notched three kills apiece while senior Kayla Baril (Seekonk, Mass.) and sophomore Casey Holmes (Norton, Mass.) each recorded a pair of aces during the Bears' 14-5 run. With the set tied at 17-17, the Rams rattled off three straight points including kills from Rodriguez and Thomas to take control of the frame.

In the third, the Bears led 12-7, but Framingham battled back taking a 14-13 lead on an ace by freshman Alyssa Cafarelli (Peoria, Ariz.). The Rams pushed the lead to 21-15 before securing the three set victory.

The Rams were led by a match-high 21 kills from Thomas who committed just three attack errors in the match. She also added three digs and three blocks. Rodriguez finished the match with nine kills, while sophomore Grace Caughey (Mendon, Mass.) added seven kills and 16 digs. Senior Mackenzie Whalen (Norton, Mass.) chipped in with 40 set assists and 17 digs, while Cafarelli finished with two aces, four assists and 15 digs.

The Bears were paced by ten kills and three blocks (one solo) from junior Erin Clifford (Hanson, Mass.), while senior Kayla Baril (Seekonk, Mass.) added eight kills, 14 digs and three aces. Sophomore Casey Holmes (Norton, Mass.) and senior Picabo Miskiv (Barnstable, Mass.) recorded 15 and 14 assist. Holmes also added ten digs and three aces, while Miskiv added nine digs and a pair of aces. Senior Cassidy Tyros (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched ten digs in the match as she wrapped up her four-year career at Bridgewater State ranked third in program history with 1,553.