Warriors Sweep Vikings in Final Home Contest

SALEM, Mass. -- Salem State women's volleyball hosted the Warriors from Eastern Connecticut State University for their final home match of the 2024 season. The Warriors emerged victorious with a 3-0 sweep, handing the Vikings the loss and dropping their record to 2-22 for the year. 

How it Happened: 

• The Vikings surged to a 4-1 lead, powered by two kills from Sabina Kamanda (Dracut, Mass.), before the Warriors answered with four consecutive points to take their first lead of the match, 5-4. The two teams would trade points until the Warriors went on a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the set at 22-13. A series of attack errors by the Warriors allowed the Vikings to close the gap to 22-16, but they wouldn't get any closer as the Warriors went on to win the first set, 25-18. 
• The Warriors picked up right where they left off to start set two, quickly jumping out to a 4-1 lead before a kill from Kamanda halted their momentum. The Vikings battled back, tying the game at 6-6 and then at 7-7, but the Warriors responded with a 9-2 run, pulling ahead 16-9 and forcing the Vikings to call a timeout. After the break, the Vikings managed to score once, but three unanswered points from the Warriors extended their lead to 19-10. Back-to-back points from the Vikings cut the deficit to 20-12, but the Warriors controlled the play the rest of the way to seal the set, 25-15. 
• Gabrielle Martinez (Peabody, Mass.) halted the Warriors' momentum to start the third set with a timely kill, before back-to-back aces from teammate Grace Dailey (Peabody, Mass.) gave the Vikings their first lead of the set at 6-5. Salem would briefly hold a two-point advantage at 10-8, but Sierra York's (Ashford, Conn.) five kills ignited the Warriors' offense, helping them surge to a 20-12 lead. The Warriors maintained their dominance, closing out the set 25-13 to complete the 3-0 match sweep of the Vikings. 

Inside the Numbers: 

• Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) and Sabina Kamanda led the Vikings tonight with six and five kills, respectively; with Shairs accounting for 10 points and Kamanda for six. 
• Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) had 13 digs, followed by Ariana Barrows (Danvers, Mass.) with 11.  

Up Next: 

The Vikings have a quick turnaround as they travel to Portland, Maine tomorrow night to take on the Huskies from the University of Southern Maine at 6p.m.