Vikings Lose 3-1 to Mitchell

SALEM, Mass. – Mitchell defeated Salem State in the Vikings' home-opener on Saturday afternoon at Twohig Gymnasium. The Mariners won by scores of 20-15, 25-20, 25-8 and 25-23 to improve to 1-1 on the season. The Vikings now stand at 0-2.

Mitchell won the first set 25-15 behind the strong play of Olivia DeLoach (New Britain, Conn.), who had five kills in the first set. The Mariners committed just three errors and hit at a .317 clip before Molly Steel-Miller (Salem, Ore.) cemented the win with Mitchell's 16^th kill of the set.

The Vikings bounced back in set two, winning 25-20. Salem State jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Mitchell tied the set 4-4. Salem State then went on a 9-3 run, taking advantage of multiple errors by the Mariners. A kill from Abigail O'Connor (Gilford, N.H.) made the score 22-12 in favor of the Vikings before a service error committed by Mitchell gave Salem State a five-point victory.

The Mariners coasted to an easy 25-8 win in set three. Four kills by Bree Rudolph (Glendale, Ariz) helped the Mariners to a 13-3  lead. Mitchell then closed the set with four straight points in the win.

Salem State rallied in set four. A closely played set saw Salem State take a 20-17 lead following a kill by Ella Speidel (Beverly, Mass.). However, Mitchell responded with a 4-0 run to regain the lead following an attack error by Salem State. Two kills by DeLoach and an error by Salem State propelled the Mariners to the four-set victory.

DeLoach finished with 16 kills, 21 digs and five aces for Mitchell. Steel-Miller added 13 kills while Claire Binfield (Las Vegas, Nev.)  had a game-high 38 assists. Stephanie Costabile (Stamford, Conn.) and Bree Rudolph (Glendale, Ariz) combined for 37 digs.

Danielle Sheehan (Walpole, Mass.) led Salem State with eight kills, five digs and three aces. Michelle Le (Woburn, Mass.) tallied 21 digs and Eva Haralabatos (Melrose, Mass.) added 23 assists and 10 digs.