Colby Sawyer Pushes Past Salem State

SALEM, Mass. – Colby-Sawyer earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) sweep over Salem State at Twohig Gymnasium in a non-conference match on Wednesday evening. The Chargers improve to 3-13 on the season while the Vikings go to 5-7. 

Colby-Sawyer began the game with a 3-1 lead against the Vikings, as the visitors jumped on top early. Presley Shairs  (Salem, Mass.) made a great block to reduce the deficit to 7-5 in favor of the Chargers before Abigail O'Connor (Gilford, N.H.) scored to draw Salem State to within a point, 10-9.  

As the game progressed, Salem State found themselves down by four points, with the score at 15-11, leading Coach McNulty to call for a time-out. Despite being behind, the Vikings refused to give up and continued to fight back. Towards the end of the first period, they had closed the gap and made it a close game. However, Colby Sawyer took the lead, 23-19, and sealed the deal against the Vikings, winning 25-20. O'Connor and Shairs performed well, with an average of eight points combined during the set. 

Salem State came out strong in the second set, starting with a 6-2 run. They continued to dominate the game, forcing the Chargers to call for a time-out, with the Vikings leading 10-4 and enjoying a six-point lead. After the time-out, the game became more competitive, but Salem State kept their lead, with an Ariana Barrows' (Danvers, Mass.) kill bringing the score to 16-9, and the team was pumped up. The Chargers came roaring back come back however, with a 10-0 run with nine of the points coming off the serve of Maria Avila (Goffstown, N.H.). Back-to-back kills by Kill by Katie Mollberg (Naples, Fla.) made it 21-17 as the Chargers went on to win 25-17.

The two teams battled competitively in the third set, as Salem State opened with an 8-4 lead. Colby Sawyer once again rallied with a 7-0 run behind a pair of kills from Ally Majenski (Marshfield, Mass.) and back-to-back aces by Audra Fontes (Fresno. Calif.). Trailing 21-15, Salem State fought back to pull within two, 24-22, but a kill by Ari Cuevas (Somersworth, N.H.) gave the chargers a 25-22 win.

Fontes finished with 22 digs, six assists and three aces. Mollberg and Majenski combined for 26 kills and eight digs for the Colby Sawyer. Brooke Patnode (Weare, N.H.) had a match-high 32 assists.

O'Connor led Salem State with six kills while Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) chipped in with 20 digs and three aces.