SALEM, West Virginia - On a rainy evening in the Valley of Learning, the Salem women's volleyball team welcomed the Falcons of Fairmont State to T. Edward Davis Gymnasium Tuesday evening. It was a hard fought contest throughout, with the Tigers even snagging the second set. However, the Falcons emerged with the 3-1 win. 

Top open the contest, the Tigers were slow to get things going, but battled back late in the set behind some strong play from Katie Kennedy and Mykenzie Cyncke. However the Salem comeback fizzled out, and Fairmont State took set 1 25-19. 

In set 2, the Tigers again fell behind early, but got right back in the game with a 6 point swing that featured Noemi Combi at the service line. The game was very closely contested from there on out, and the Tigers even knotted things up at 20-20 and 22-22. From there, a 5 point run with critical points from Valentina Poti and Marika Righi earned Salem the 25-22 win in set 2. 

Sets 3 and 4 opened the same way as the previous two. The Tigers fell behind initially, and then built up a pair of rallies that kept the pressure on the Falcons. However, Fairmont State took both the final 2 frames to earn the 3-1 win. 

Statistically, Salem was led by 13 kills from Marika Righi. Ana Julia Avila Vian had a strong day with 3 service aces and 19 digs. Katie Kennedy contributed an impressive 29 assists as well. 

The Tigers will hit the road for their next contest as they are set to face the Wheeling Cardinals up in the Northern Panhandle on Friday, October 10th at 7 PM.