Trailblazers Come up Short on Senior Day

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - In an afternoon that had a little bit of everything, the Trailblazers would come up just short in a big conference match with Framingham State. MCLA honored two seniors, saw another Trailblazer pass an impressive mark and the Trailblazers volleyball team lost a heartbreaking five game marathon, which has put the team behind the eight ball in securing the final MASCAC playoff berth.

Framingham and MCLA were tied for fourth place coming into the match and a back and forth affair had the Rams behind Ashley Trudeau (Rockland) and Nicole Donofrio (Whitman) pulling out the fifth and deciding game.

MCLA recognized seniors Marta Brown (Glens Falls, NY) and Wendy Norcross (Rowe) before the game. Brown was All-MASCAC in 2007-08 and both she and Norcross are three time All-MASCAC Academic Team Members. Brown and Norcross are highly responsible for the turnaround of the volleyball program in recent years.

As for the game it was a barnburner. Game one set the tone for the day as Framingham pulled out a wild see saw 27-25 victory. The Trailblazers bounced back in game two with a convincing 25-14 win; but Framingham was able to close out another close one in the third game (25-21) to go ahead 2-1. The Trailblazers again came back with a well played game four winning 25-18 knotting the match at 2-2.

Game five both teams came out a little tentative and the score was 5-5 after errors on both sides. The Rams pulled ahead behind Trudeau, but Kayla Bromback (Lee) and Christina Kidd (Glens Falls, NY) rallied the Trailblazers once again. Kidd incidentally passed a milestone in the fifth game when she became the second Trailblazer in as many games to pass 1,000 career digs. The game was stopped briefly to recognize the moment and the Rams forged ahead. The final few points featured several long rallies from the two teams, but the Rams all day seemed to get the good bounce and again found a way to win a close one 15-9.

Kidd was great today with twenty kills and twenty-one digs. Brown had 47 assists and Norcross playing for the first time in over a month due to injury had five kills and three digs.

MCLA must now beat Salem State next Saturday and hope Salem can beat Framingham the previous night to force a three way tie for fourth.

The Trailblazers will travel to Norwich on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

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Companion Corner Grey Boy at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.

Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.

The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.

"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."

It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.

"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.

Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.

"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."

Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.

"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."

He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.

"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.

Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.

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