Women's Volleyball Swept In Tri-Matches Against College of Saint Benedict and Emerson

THE BASICS 
Match 1: Salem State University, 0 vs College of Saint Benedict, 3 (25-10, 25-15, 25-12)
Match 2: Salem State University, 0 vs Emerson College, 3 (25-12, 25-10, 25-17)

Records: 
Salem State University Vikings (1-3)
College of Saint Benedict Bennies (7-0)
Emerson College Lions (1-3)

Location: Boston, Mass. - Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025

THE LEAD — On the final day of the UMass Boston Tournament, the Salem State University Women's Volleyball team dropped both of its matchups against the College of Saint Benedict and Emerson College by scores of 3-0 Saturday afternoon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 1 vs. CSB)

• After both sides exchanged points in the first, Salem jumped ahead 2-1 thanks to a Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) kill. However, the College of Saint Benedict jumped back ahead 7-3 thanks to a 6-1 spurt, which included two Ginny Schuler aces. 
• The Vikings chipped away, and after  Sabina Kamanda (Dracut, Mass.) got the squad down 8-5, the Bennies surged ahead with a 6-0 run, which made it 14-5. From then on, the College of Saint Benedict closed out the first set by outscoring Salem, 11-5, and took set one by a score of 25-10. 
• At the beginning of the second set, the Vikes offense caught fire early and opened up a quick 5-1 lead, which was highlighted by kills from Shairs and Bella Coccia (Westfield, Mass.). However, the College of Saint Benedict hung around, and after they cut the deficit to one (7-6), Salem State answered, thanks to a Kamanda kill, putting the squad back up two (8-6). 
• Despite the Kamanda kill, the Bennies' offense pulled away behind a 12-1 run and doubled up the Vikings, 18-9, highlighted by three Libby Burns aces. Even with the large deficit, Salem State pulled back within five (19-14) with a late 5-1 rally thanks to multiple Bennies errors. However, that was the closest Salem got in the second at the College of Saint Benedict finished the second with a 6-1 run for the 25-15 set two win.
• In the final set, Salem jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after an Ariana Barrows (Danvers, Mass.) kill but even with the quick lead, the College of Saint Benedict responded with an 8-1 run for a six-point advantage (8-2) before Barrows broke up the run with a kill. Despite Barrows breaking up the Bennies scoring, the College of Saint Benedict was not phased and grabbed its largest lead of the set (21-8) with a 13-5 surge. From there, the Bennies completed the sweep by winning the final set, 25-12. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Match 1 vs. CSB)

• Kamanda tied her season-high in kills by leading Salem State with six. 
• Two other Vikings finished with multiple kills (Shairs-four and Barrows-two).
• Celia Carbone (Lynnfield, Mass.) guided the Salem offense with seven helpers. 
• Defensively, Shairs swatted away a team-high two shots. 
• Gianna Mahoney (Revere, Mass.) led the squad with seven digs.
• Jones led the Bonnies with nine kills Saturday. 
• Izzy Torve dished out a team-high 17 assists.
• Saturday's matchup marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 2 vs. EC)

• Emerson opened up set one with four-straight points, but a Gabriella Martinez (Peabody, Mass.) kill broke up the Lions' offense. However, Emerson continued its offensive surge, and after the Lions continued to keep Salem at a distance and went up 10-3, the Lions grabbed their first double-digit lead of the set (17-7) thanks to a 7-4 spurt. Unfortunately, the Vikings offense could not get into a rhythm for the rest of the opening set and Emerson took the first set, 25-12.
• After Emerson jumped out to a 3-1 lead, Salem responded with a 4-0 run for its first lead (4-3) of the second set, thanks to Emerson errors and kills from Kamanda and Martinez. The Lions evened things back at four, but the Vikings answered right back with a Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) kill.
• However, the Lions offense put things out of reach and had their first double-digit lead of the set (19-9) with a 15-4 surge. Dalena Garrett highlighted the Emerson run with two aces, along with a kill as well. From then on, the Lions wrapped up set two, outscoring the Vikings, 6-1, for a 25-10 win.
• Set three started competitive between both sides as neither squad could pull away from the other. Emerson found themselves ahead three (8-5), but Salem responded and evened things at eight thanks to multiple Lions errors and a Shairs kill.  Emerson would answer back and go up 11-9 but Salem retook the lead (12-11) after a Carbone ace. 
• Despite the one-point lead, the Lions responded and went back up three (15-12), but once again, the Vikings would not go quietly. The squad tied the set at 15 thanks to multiple Lions errors. 
• Despite tying the match late in the third set, Emerson closed out the third on a 10-2 run and secured the sweep, 25-17. Sophia Schiappa highlighted the closing stretch for Emerson with a kill and three aces. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Match 2 vs. EC)

• Martinez led the Salem State offense with a career-high four kills. 
• Carbone once again paced the Vikings offense with a team-high nine assists. 
• On the defensive front, Roche led the way with 10 digs for the Blue and Orange.
• For Emerson, Shirley Yu led the Lions with nine kills.
• Chloe Hokenson and Schiappa led their squad with 12 and 10 assists, respectively. 
• Saturday's contest marked the third matchup between the two programs, with Emerson leading the series, 3-0.

UP NEXT

• Salem State returns to the friendly confines of Twohig Gymnasium for a non-conference matchup against Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, September 7, at 7:00 p.m.