Salem State Comes Back to Beat Albertus Magnus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Salem State came back, trailing two sets to one, to defeat Albertus Magnus 3-2 on Thursday evening. The Vikings won 17-25, 28-26, 22-25, 25-16, 15-8 to improve to 3-6 on the year. The Falcons dip to 3-9.

Albertus Magnus won the the first set 25-17 as a service ace by Rachael Pellegrini and four straight errors by Salem State gave the Falcons a 6-2 lead. Leading 12-10, Albertus Magnus went on a 9-1 run to take a commanding 21-11 lead as the Vikings hit at a (-171) clip in the opening set. Gracie Dailey's third service ace gave the Falcons the win.  

Salem State raced out to a 12-4 lead in set two, as a pair of kills by Presley Shairs and Abigail O'Connor gave the Vikings an eight-point lead. Albertus Magnus battled back to pull within two, 18-16 following two aces by Maggie McQuade. The Vikings pulled ahead, 23-17 after Speidel's fifth kill of the day, but once again the Falcons used a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead. The two teams exchanged points before a kill by Eva Haralabatos and an attack error by Albertus Magnus gave Salem State a 28-26 victory.

The two teams played a tightly contested third set, with neither team building a lead larger than three points. Back-to-back kills by O'Connor gave the Vikings a 10-8 lead. The Falcons tied the match 15-all before pulling away late as three straight attack errors by Salem State gave Albertus Magnus a 24-21 advantage. A kill by Diana Kalman pushed the set to the Falcons.   

Salem State scored seven of the final nine points in set four to force a deciding fifth set. Up 18-14, Albertus Magnus took the next two points before the Vikings ripped off seven straight point to clinch the set as Shairs and O'Connor combined for seven kills. 

The Vikings won the final set in convincing fashion, dominating the set by taking a 12-3 lead. Salem State hit .360, did not committ an error and racked up nine kills. A kill by Charlotte Orth gave Salem State a 15-8 win.

O'Connor – 14 kills and Shairs – 11 kills led the way for Salem State. Dailey and Speidel combined for 20 kills with Dailey adding 13 digs. Haralabatos had a season-high 43 assists to go with five aces and 18 digs. Kailey Roche led the defensive effort with 22 digs.

Kalman led the Falcons with 14 kills with 16 digs. Amanda Zdru had 24 digs while Pellegrini added 20 assists and 20 digs.