Salem State Swept By University of New England in Midweek Road Match

THE BASICS 
Salem State, 0 at University of New England (UNE), 3 (25-7, 25-11, 25-19)

Records: 
UNE Nor'easters (5-5)
Salem State University Vikings (3-6)

Location: Biddeford, Maine - Harold Alfond Forum

Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

THE LEAD—  Despite putting up a highly competitive third set, the Salem State University women's volleyball team fell to UNE, 3-0, Tuesday evening at the Harold Alfond Forum.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Early in the first, Salem jumped out to a 2-1 lead, highlighted by a Celia Carbone (Lynnfield, Mass.) ace. However, UNE bounced back and later in the set would go up three (7-4) after a Vikings error. From then on, the hosts grabbed a commanding 14-point advantage (21-7) thanks to a 14-3 surge. From then on, the Nor'easters closed out the opening set with four-straight points for a 25-7 set win.
• In the second set, after UNE had an early 3-2 lead, Salem evened the contest at three courtesy of a Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) kill. Similar to the first set, UNE utilized yet another large run to pull ahead by as much as 16 (22-6) behind an 18-3 stretch. While Salem cracked double-digits to make it 24-10, the Nor'Easters were able to secure the winning point for a 25-11 set victory. 
• After UNE doubled up Salem early in the final set (6-3), the squad responded and evened things at seven, highlighted by a Shairs ace and Ariana Barrows (Danvers, Mass.) kill. Both sides continued to go back and forth, and after being tied at 12, the Vikings earned their first significant lead (15-12) behind a 3-0 run which included a Shairs kill and Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) ace. 
• The Blue and Orange would grab their second three-point lead in the contest (18-15) after taking advantage of a Nor'easters error. Despite the lead, the hosts rallied and secured the match victory by outscoring the Vikings, 10-1, for the 25-19 set win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shairs led the Salem offense with six kills on the night.
• Carbone guided the offense with 15 assists. She has now dished out 15-plus helpers in five of her last six matches.
• On the defensive end, Roche led the way with 15 digs.
• Ellijah Hanley and Hannah Nowell paced UNE with 15 and 11 kills, respectively.
• Two different Nor'easters finished with 10-plus assists on the night, led by Hayley Shult's 20. Meanwhile, Abby Zamora had 10 assists. 
• Defensively, Kelsey Bradshaw led UNE with 14 digs and not far behind was Nowell with 12.

UP NEXT

• Salem returns home for a matchup versus Gordon College starting on Thursday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m.