Volleyball Knocks Off Dean and Bay Path in Home Opener

FITCHBURG, MA: Fitchburg State volleyball took down both Dean College and Bay Path University in non-conference action in their home opening tri-match.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 9/2/23

- Score: Fitchburg 3, Dean 0: Sets (26-24, 25-15, 25-19).

             Fitchburg 3, Bay Path 1: Sets (15-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-15)

- Records: Fitchburg (2-0), Dean (1-1), Bay Path (0-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Match One

-  Samantha Mirra (Burlington, MA) paced the Falcons offense with an impressive 14 kill outing in the first match. Stephanie Sardella (Billerica, MA) finished just behind her with ten kills of her own to go along with nine digs. Setter Emily Gelinas (Westfield, MA) dished out 21 assists to go along with her eight digs. Topping the Falcons defensively was the libero Jessica Greco (Southington, CT), who finished with a game high 13 digs.

- The Bulldogs finished the match, hitting for a -0.74 after getting 18 kills on 94 total attempts. Leading Dean in kills was Emily Larouche with six. Larouche also ended the match with a team high 11 digs.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Kills: Fitchburg 29, Dean 18

-  Assists: Fitchburg 26, Dean 18

-  Digs: Dean 50, Fitchburg 49

HOW IT HAPPENED: Match Two

-  The final match of the day ended in the Falcons favor after dropping the first set. Sardella finished on top for Fitchburg with 12 kills to go along with 12 digs. Gelinas finished with an even 30 assists, with two kills and four digs. Mirra found herself leading the team defensively with an impressive 20 digs.

- The Wildcats offense was led by Anastaya Tsetko with eight kills. She finished with the best hitting percentage after only committing three errors on 17 attempts (.294). Michelle Santiago was the setter in this one for Bay Path. She set up 18 Wildcats for kills while also getting two kills of her own. Zylasia Knighton tied Mirra in digs for a match high, with 20.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Kills: Fitchburg 39, Bay Path 27

-  Assists: Fitchburg 34, Bay Path 24

-  Digs: Fitchburg 63, Bay Path 58

UP NEXT:

- Fitchburg women's volleyball will be on the court next Tuesday at 6:00 PM when they host Lesley University.   

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