Vikings Pick Up First Win With 3-1 Victory Over Mass Maritime

SALEM, Mass. -- Genevieve Kempster (Hopedale, Mass.) had nine kills, three aces and 15 digs as Salem State secured their first win of the year with a 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-12, 25-18) victory over MASCAC rival Mass Maritime at Twohig Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. Miranda Quinlan (Billerica, Mass.) and Abigail O'Connor (Gilford, N.H.) each tallied nine kills and and combined for 11 digs as the Vikigs imporve to 1-5 and 1-0 in conference. The Buccaneers continue to look for their first win, goining to 0-6 and 0-1 in the MASCAC.

Salem State took advantage of eight Mass Maritime errors to win 25-15 in set one. The Vikings raced out to a 10-1 lead as Kempster served on nine straight points. An attack error by Salem State drew the Buccaneers to within 18-11, but Salem State pulled away following a kill by Quinlan, which gave the Vikings a 10-point win. Mass Maritime battled back with a 25-21 win in set two. Tied at 4-4 the Buccaneers behind the strong play of Ameena Freeman (Columbus, Ohio), who had five kills in the set, built a comfortable 20-13 lead following a kill from Audrey Manning (Hanover, Mass.). A bad set brought the Vikings to within four at 23-19, but a kill by Teegan Tegan Murray (Newburyport, Mass.) and an attack error gave Mass Maritime the win.

The Vikings cruised in set three, winning comfortably 25-12. Michelle Le (Woburn, Mass.) served five straight points for Salem State as the Vikings built a 10-2 advantage. Salem State, which hit .231 for the set, took a 21-11 lead following a kill by Kempster. Three attack errors and a a kill by Eva Haralabatos (Melrose, Mass.) cemented the win. Mass Maritime took an early lead in set four, but back-to-back aces by Haralabatos  gave the Vikings a 13-9 lead. The Buccaneers could only draw to within five points the rest of the way after a kill by Alex Smith (Shippensburg, Pa.) made the score 19-14. Quinlan sealed the win with her ninth kill of the match.

Le finished with a game-high 36 digs for the Vikings while Haralabatos topped all plyers with 30 assists while adding three aces and seven digs. O'Connor had three blocks on the night.

Freeman had nine kills, 17 digs and and three blocks for Mass Maritime. Bianca AAndronic (Somerset, Mass.) tallied 15 assists and 15 digs. Marlo Sim (Groton, Conn.) provided a solid stat line of seven kills and 12 digs.