Women's Volleyball Fall on the Road at Westfield State, 3-0

THE BASICS 
Salem State, 0 at Westfield State, 3 (33-31, 25-17, 25-13)

Records: 
Westfield State University Owls (7-8, 2-1 MASCAC)
Salem State University Vikings (5-10, 0-2 MASCAC)

Location: Westfield, Mass. - Woodward Center

Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025

THE LEAD—  Despite a back-and-forth first set, the Salem State women's volleyball team fell to Westfield State, 3-0  (33-31, 25-17, 25-13), Wednesday evening at the Woodward Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• During the first set, Westfield was up by as much as eight (19-11). However, Salem chipped away, and after the squad pulled within four (24-20), the Vikings fought off set point and evened things at 24. Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) highlighted the rally with two kills during the stretch. 
• After Westfield briefly took a 25-24 advantage, Salem grabbed its first lead of the night (26-24) after capitalizing on an error followed by a Shairs ace. Both sides, however, matched each other's play, not allowing the other to grab a set point. As the set went well into extra points, the Blue and Orange grabbed a late 31-30 lead when Sabina Kamanda (Dracut, Mass.) notched a kill. Unfortunately, the Owls closed out the first set on a 3-0 run to earn a 33-31 set win.
• In the second set, Westfield raced out to an early 7-1 lead. However, Salem ended up tying the set at 11 thanks to a 10-4 rally highlighted by three kills from Shairs. Both sides exchanged points in the next few rallies, and with the set tied at 17, Westfield closed out set two on an 8-0 run for a 25-17 set win.
• Early in the third set, both sides went back and forth, and after Shairs tied the match at six, the hosts pulled ahead to take a five-point lead (11-6) and gave themselves breathing room. The Blue and Orange would pull within four (13-9) thanks to an Owls error; however, Westfield's strong offense continued in the third set, and the Owls took the final set thanks to a 12-4 surge. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Salem's offense featured two Vikings with 10-plus kills, led by Shairs with 13, and Kamanda notched a season-high 11.
• Celia Carbone (Lynnfield, Mass.) guided the Vikings' offense with 30 assists. She has now recorded at least 30 assists twice this year. 
• Three different Vikings posted 10 or more digs on Wednesday, led by Carbone's 13. Keira Doherty (Woburn, Mass.) and Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.) followed behind Carbone with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. 
• Emily Washkalavitch led Westfield with nine kills on the night. 
• Morgan Dority dished out a team-high 25 assists.

UP NEXT

• Salem continues its three-game road trip when the squad heads to Lesley University on Tuesday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m.