Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Volleyball claimed a victory to kick off the homecoming weekend with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-20, 17-25, 27-25) win over the Fitchburg Falcons Friday Night at Parkinson Gymnasium.
The Lancers came out on top quickly on the serve, jumping to a 5-1 lead in the first set off the arm of sophomore Angela Colonis (Waterford, Conn.). Further services by first year Cassandra Millea (Orange, CT) and junior Maeve Cadogan (Wilmington, MA) quickly helped push the Lancers to a 13-3 lead. The closest the Falcons managed to bring the match in the first set was a 9-point separation before Worcester State charged ahead for the first set victory.
The middle sets were a closer battle with each team claiming a set. Worcester State won the second, managing to stay just a few points ahead of Fitchburg before a Cadogan service rotation saw the Lancers jump out by five points to lead them to the 25-20 victory. The Third set saw the Lancers come out strong, but the Falcons were not ready to concede the match in the third and came from behind some near miss attacks from Worcester State to gain a point off the set.
The fourth, and ultimate final set, kept both teams on their toes. Aces and errors from both teams were sprinkled in with some deadly kills that kept the match close which led to the need for extra points to determine the winner. Worcester State capitalized on an attack error by Fitchburg's Samantha Mirra and setting error by Iyana Lopez to take home the 27-25 set and match win.
Cadogan led the team on the night with 7 kills while junior Camryn Burgio (Quincy, MA) came up with 27 digs for the Lancers.
Senior Erin Gaffney (Worcester, MA) was unable to attend the match in Fitchburg tonight as her mother, Christine Gaffney '89, was inducted into the Worcester State Athletics Hall of Fame; in part to her contributions to the Worcester State Volleyball program.
The Falcons fall to 3-5, 0-2 on the season while the Lancers move to 2-11, 1-1. They are next in action on September 28 when they host Bridgewater State for another conference matchup.