Women's Volleyball Tops Fitchburg State, 3-1

THE BASICS 
Salem State, 3 (25-18, 25-19, 25-27, 25-21) vs. Fitchburg State, 1

Records: 
Fitchburg State University Falcons (2-17, 0-4 MASCAC)
Salem State University Vikings (7-11, 1-3 MASCAC)

Location: Salem, Mass. - Twohig Gymnasium

Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2025

THE LEAD—  The Salem State University women's volleyball team earned its first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win of the year with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 25-27, 25-21) victory versus Fitchburg State Tuesday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the opening set after Salem went up two (10-8), the Vikings gave themselves breathing room with a 6-3 stretch that made it 16-11. During the mini surge of offense for Salem, Bella Coccia (Westfield, Mass.) and Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) each chipped in a kill. Despite Fitchburg cutting the deficit to three (17-14), Salem closed out the first set on an 8-4 run that secured a 25-18 set win. During the closing stretch, Shairs and Ariana Barrows (Danvers, Mass.) both had a kill to highlight the offense. 
• The second set started the same as the first, with both sides going back and forth. After Fitchburg tied the set at 11, Salem raced out to a 22-16 lead thanks to an 11-5 run. Sabina Kamanda (Dracut, Mass.) played a key role in the Vikes' burst of offense, thanks to two kills in that span. While the Falcons would not go quietly, cutting Salem's lead down to three (22-19), the squad closed out the second set with a Fitchburg error and back-to-back Ellie Hernsdorf (Granby, Conn.) aces.
• Fitchburg started to find its groove in the third set by jumping out to a quick 8-3 advantage. However, Salem chipped away and made it a three-point game (9-6) after taking advantage of multiple Falcons errors. Fitchburgh, though, would start to pull ahead and go up as much as six (17-11) courtesy of an 8-5 run. 
• Even with the large advantage, Salem continued to hang around and would ultimately make it a three-point game again (18-15) after another Fitchburg error. The visitors once again held off Salem and pushed its lead up to five (24-19) with a 6-3 stretch. 
• The Blue and Orange would not go quietly as the hosts ended up tying things at 25 behind a 6-1 rally, which featured kills from Barrows, Coccia, and Gabriella Martinenz (Peabody, Mass.). Unfortunately, Fitchburg ended up holding on in the third set, scoring the following two points for a 27-25 set three win.
• Salem jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the fourth set, highlighted by two Shairs kills. However, Fitchburg reclaimed the lead (11-10) thanks to an 8-3 run. After that, both sides exchanged points, and when Salem went up 13-12, the squad gave itself some room by doubling up the visitors (18-14) with a 5-2 stretch. 
• Despite the four-point Salem lead, Fitchburg cut into the Vikings' advantage and made it a two-point game (19-17) later in the frame. However, that would be the closest the Faclons got as Salem closed out the final set outscoring Fitchburg, 6-4 for the 25-21 match win. Three different Vikings chipped in during the closing stretch, including kills from Kamanda, Shairs, and Barrows.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shairs led the way offensively with 13 kills for Salem. 
• Celia Carbone (Lynnfield, Mass.) once again paced the Vikings with 36 helpers.
• Defensively, two Vikings finished the match with 20-plus digs, led by Gianna Mahoney (Revere, Mass.) with 21, and Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) at 20. 
• Stephane Sardella led the Falcons with 12 kills on the day.
• Mia Vestal and Madison Keohane each dished out a team-high 14 assists.

UP NEXT

• Salem kicks off a three-game road trip on Saturday, October 18, at Norwich, starting at 11:00 a.m.