Wildcats win match over Fitchburg State in 5 sets

 September 21, 2021

Falcons Clipped By Wildcats In Five Sets

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State women's volleyball team dropped a tough five set decision to the Wildcats of Bay Path University this evening in non-conference action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

 The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Bay Path 3 (25-23, 16-25, 24-26, 25-21, 11-15)
Records: Fitchburg State (1-8, 0-1 MASCAC) | Bay Path (3-7)

Set One
Bay Path grabbed a 7-5 edge in the opening set on a service ace from freshman Lilly Kibbe (Ware, Mass.) before Fitchburg State knotted the contest at 19-19 following an attack error. The Green and Gold rallied to take a 23-21 margin off an Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.) service ace. With the score tied at 23-23, the Falcons secured the first set victory as newcomer Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.) notched a service ace.

Set Two
The Wildcats went on a 4-1 run to start the second set with Kibbe collecting a kill, but the Falcons answered back, cutting the lead to 9-7 off a pair of points off of Mirra serves. Bay Path closed out the second set however on a 4-2 stretch, led by Kibbe with a service ace, resulting in the 25-16 second set victory.

Set Three

The visitors continued its momentum, collecting a 15-6 lead on a trio of kills by senior Lydia Clifford (Coventry, R.I.), but Fitchburg State battled back (17-15) as Gelinas and senior Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) tallied one kill each. The Green and Gold took a 24-22 advantage as Sheehan and senior Lauren Riccardi (Tewksbury, Mass.) registered kills before the Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to earn the 26-24 victory on kills by freshman Nevaeh Flores (Windham, Conn.) and sophomore Zyiasia Knighton (Springfield, Mass.). 

Set Four

Fitchburg State would take an 8-4 margin to begin the fourth set with a pair of Sheehan service aces and kill by Riccardi. Bay Path cut the deficit to 9-8 following an attack error before the Green and Gold upped its lead to 19-15 off a Gelinas kill. The Falcons forced a fifth and final set as Riccard netted a kill.

Set Five
The fifth set was back and forth as the two teams traded points before Bay Path grabbed a 7-5 edge on a Knighton kill. Fitchburg State regained the lead (8-7) following a service ace by senior Amy Coelho (Bellingham, Mass.), but the Wildcats would take the lead for good as Clifford notched a kill, resulting in the 15-11 final.

Inside the Numbers

This evening's contest marked the fifth meeting between the two teams on the volleyball court with the Falcons 2-3 all-time when taking on the Wildcats

Fitchburg State had won the last two matchups with Bay Path, including a 3-0 decision in the last meeting on August 31, 2019 at the Parkinson Gymnasium

Fitchburg State was paced by senior Perry Joubert (Seekonk, Mass.) with a match-best 18 assists, two digs and one solo block, while Coelho added a game-leading 27 digs, one kill and one service ace. Riccardi was also strong for the Green and Gold, finishing with a career-best 16 kills, six digs, three solo blocks and one blocking assist.

For Bay Path, Clifford led the way with a triple-double of 17 digs, 16 kills and 16 assists to go along with five service aces, while Kibbe chipped in with a double-double of ten kills and 15 digs as well as two assists and two service aces.

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they take on the Lancers of Worcester State and the Broncos of SUNY Delhi in a tri-match, hosted by Worcester State at 1:00 PM and 3:00 P.M. Wildcats will battle the Beavers of Babson and Lyons of Mount Holyoke in a tri-match as well on Saturday at 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. at Mount Holyoke.

Story courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Inormation Department

Jamie Rogers

Assistant Sports Information Director