FITCHBURG, Mass -- The Buccaneers volleyball team played their first MASCAC contest of the season on Tuesday against Fitchburg State. After splitting the first two sets, the Falcons took sets three and four to win the match, 3-1.

The Basics

Final: Falcons 3, Buccaneers 1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 25-17)

Records: Fitchburg (5-6, 1-0)

               Maritime (3-8, 0-1)

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Gemma Geisler led the Bucs attack with seven kills. Freshman Ashley Catlett had six kills of her own and captain Marlo Stark recorded five.
• Audrey Manning finished the match with a team-high 19 assists.
• Geisler led the match with four aces. Catler recorded three and Stark tallied two.
• Defensively, Erin Donlan racked up a career-high and match-high 24 digs. Stark totaled 18 and Catlett has 11.
• Chloe Johnson continued her dominance at the net with two solo blocks. Izabella Mackintosh and Geisler each had one solo block.
• In total, the Bucs had 26 kills, 25 assists, nine aces, 64 digs, and four blocks.

Fitchburg

• Stephanie Sardella had a match-high nine kills for the Falcons. Abigail DeAngelis has eight and Isabella Sousa recorded seven.
• Emily Gelinas had a match-high 24 assists in the win.
• Defensively, Jessica Greco hada team-high 17 digs.
• At the net, Sousa tallied two solo blocks and Gabrielle Griffiths had one.
• Sariah Dyer and Sardella also combined for a block.
• In total, the Falcons tallied 42 kills, 41 assists, 70 digs, and four blocks.

How It Happened

The Falcons ran out to an 8-0 lead to start the first set and ran their advantage up to 10 points as they led the Bucs 15-5 midway through the set. Maritime was only outscored by one point, 10-9, down the stretch but it wasn't enough as the Bucs dropped the first set, 25-14.

In set two, the Buccaneers took an early lead, 3-1, and kept their lead until the score was 7-5. At that point, the hosts scored seven unanswered and took a 12-8 lead halfway through the second game. Though the Falcons kept their four-point advantage up to a 17-13 score, the Buccaneers Battled back eventually tying the game up at 20-20. Not wanting to go home empty handed, Maritime outscored Fitchburg 5-1 in the last six points to win the second game 25-21. 

The Bucs took an early lead again in set three and held a two-point lead until the 6-4 mark of the game. Fitchburg eventually took the lead, 11-10, and proceeded to extend the lead out to 21-13. Down the stretch, Maritime outscored the Falcons in a comeback attempt, 4-3, but those three points for the Falcons was enough to win the game, 25-17, and take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

In the fourth game, Fitchburg erased a very early 1-0 deficit and took a 5-2 lead. They held the lead the remainder of the game extending it to five points at the 15-10 mark. Up five, the hosts outscored the Bucs 10-7 the rest of the way and won the game, 25-17, and the match, 3-1.

What's Next

The Bucs are back inside the Clean Harbors Athletics Center for their next match on Thursday at 7pm against non-conference opponent Dean College.