BUZZARDS BAY, Mass – Buccaneer volleyball hosted their annual Dig Pink match on Wednesday night against Framingham State in conference play. Dig Pink matches are played by volleyball teams all over the country to support the efforts of the Side-Out Foundation which donates their time and money to the research of stage four breast cancer. In front of a crowd of 520 people who came out to support the efforts of the Buccaneers and the Side-Out Foundation, the Bucs fell to the Rams, 3-0.

The Basics

Final: Rams 3, Buccaneers 0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-15)

Records: Mass Maritime 1-13 (0-3 MASCAC)

                Framingham State 9-8 (2-1 MASCAC)

For The Bucs

• Senior Captain Michelle Sheehan (Attleboro, Mass) led the Bucs with five kills on the night. Senior Captain Marie Harrison (Weymouth, Mass) had three of her own.
• Junior Madison Coughlin (Monroe, Conn) led the team with 12 assists, third highest in the match. She also had a kill and five digs.
• Senior Captain and Libero Christina Ruggeri (Bourne, Mass) led all players in two categories, service aces with three and digs with 26.
• Harrison and sophomore Madison Morrill (Westborough, Mass) each had a solo block in the match for the Bucs.

For The Rams

• Sophomore Brandee Thomas (North Kingstown, R.I.) and freshman Hailey Sanders (Franklin, Mass) each had a match-high 10 kills for the Rams. Sanders added one of two solo blocks and assisted on another.
• Sophomore Morgan Failla (Providence, R.I.) and freshman Emily Flaherty (Milford, N.H.) tied for the match-high in assists with 14 apiece. Flaherty also had 12 digs, third best among all players, second for Framingham.
• Sophomore Libero Alysa Cafarelli (Peoria, AZ) had 14 digs to lead the Rams.

How It Happened

With a high energy crowd behind them, the Buccaneers played one of their best matched of the season. Against a strong Framingham team they took an early lead in the first set, leading by three, 5-2, seven points in. Framingham closed the gap and took the lead back from the Bucs, going on a 13-3 run to take a 15-8 lead halfway through the first game. Thought the energy and play of the Buccaneers didn't show it, Framingham captured the momentum late in the set, outscoring Maritime 10-5 to win the first set 25-13.

The Buccaneers fell behind in the second set early, trailing 6-3. Unforced errors by Framingham helped the Bucs to a five points swing to take an 8-6 lead. Midway through the game, Maritime opened up what would be their biggest lead of the evening, a four-point, 12-8, advantage. Not letting The Buccaneers away easily, the Rams took back the lead as part of a 10-2 run, leading 18-14 late in the set. The Bucs pushed the Rams in the set but the Rams prevailed once again, but this time couldn't keep Maritime under 20, winning game two, 25-20.

The third and final set of the night was another hard fought affair by both sides, trading points and leads early on. Maritime led at one point 11-9. But, much like the first two sets, Framingham wouldn't let the Bucs get away with it for too long, scoring 16 of the next 20 points to win the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.

Up Next

The Buccaneers are home again this Saturday, October 5^th, as part of Homecoming weekend. They will take on Nichols College at 5pm.