FITCHBURG, Mass -- With only two conference matches remaining in the regular season, the Buccaneers traveled to play Fitchburg State on Wednesday evening. Maritime and the Falcons were the only two teams in the conference without a conference win coming into the night. At the end of the match, the Falcons won the match in three hardfought sets, 3-0, over the Buccaneers.

The Basics

Final: Falcons 3, Buccaneers 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21)

Records: Fitchburg 3-13 (1-5)

               Maritime 3-11 (0-6)

Inside The Numbers

For The Bucs

• Shayla Narodowg led the Bucs in kills with nine in the match. She also led the Bucs in aces with two. 
• Keira Whalen  was the assists leader with 13. 
• Defensively, Audrey Manning and Marlo Stark led the team with 11 digs. 
• Chloe Johnson recorded two solo blocks in the loss.
• The Bucs posted their first negative hitting percentage of the season at -.040. Narodowg posted the best HP at .368.

For The Falcons

• Samantha Mirra led all players with 10 kills. 
• Emily Gelinas was the match leader in assists with 19.
• Three Falcons had two aces each in the win.
• Defensively, Stephanie Sardella was the clubhouse leader in digs with 17. Mirra had 12 of her own. 
• Sariah Dyer had three solo blocks and a block assist with Sardella in the match.
• The Falcons posted a .096 hitting percentage in the match, led by Dyer at .316.

How It Happened

Maritime led and led a lot in the first set. Early on, they led by a margin of one until the Falcons tied the score at 4-4.. From there, the Bucs regained the lead and opened their advantage to as many as six, leading 12-6 at one point. Fitchburg closed that lead and tied the game back again at 12-12. Again, Maritime opened a four-point lead. Up 22-20 late, Maritime watched the Falcons swoop in and take the lead and the game away as they scored five unanswered to win the set 25-22.

In set two, though the Falcons took the very early lead, Maritime tied the score at 4-4 and then opened a three-point advantage, 8-5. They held their lead up to 14-11 in favor of the Bucs, then the Falcons went on a five-point run to take a 16-14 lead. Fitchburg went on a run and led 24-16. Staring a second game loss in the eyes, th eBucs scored four unanswered to make it 24-20. Mirra put the final point away for the hosts and the Falcons won the second game, 25-20, and led the match 2-0.

The third set saw the Falcons go out to the early lead which they extended to eight points, 17-9, midway through the set. The Bucs proceeded to go on a 12-5 run to get within one point, 22-21. The Falcons followed that up with a three points stretch to win the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.

What's Next

The Buccaneers take to the road this Saturday for a tri-match in Providence, R.I. with Rhode Island College and Westfield State at 12pm and 2pm respectively. It is worth noting that though the Buccaneers are playing Westfield State, this will be a non-conference match with their regularly scheduled conference match on Saturday, October 29th in Westfield.