NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Colby-Sawyer women's volleyball team picked up their first win of the 2023 campaign on Thursday night defeating Fitchburg State University by a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14) final. 

Rapid Recap:

• Junior Brooke Patnode (Weare, N.H.) started off the second straight match with an ace to lead the Chargers to an early lead. Junior Katie Mollberg (Naples, Fla.) added an early kill along with junior Ally Majenski (Marshfield, Mass.) to give Colby-Sawyer a 3-1 lead. The Falcons contered with a run to take a 9-6 lead. The Chargers battled back to tie the score by a 12-12 margin with two more kills by Mollberg. The teams traded points and after a kill by first year Delaney Skourtis (Tilton, N.H.) the Chargers saw themselves in a 16-14 lead. Colby-Sawyer kept the lead at 21-19, but the Falcons played smart down the stretch winning the first set by a 25-23 final. 
• Colby-Sawyer came out strong holding  a 10-3 lead in the second set following three kills by Skourtis and another by Majenski and Mollberg. The Chargers continued to grow the score leading by a 21-13 margin off another kill by Majenski. Junior Brooke Patnode (Weare, N.H.) added a kil of her own as the Chargers closed out the Falcons by a 25-20 final. 
• Colby-Sawyer stormed ahead in the third set by a 7-3 margin behind two kills by Mollberg another by Majenski and two aces by first year Haley Hathorn (Hillsboro, N.H.). After a short comeback by Fitchburg State University the Chargers grew the lead back to five points after a service ace by senior Abby Williams (Brentwood, N.H.). The Falcons got back to within to 15-13, but the Chargers used a 4-1 run with another kill by Skourtis to hold the lead. The Falcons continued to battle back cutting the lead to 20-19 but Colby-Sawyer ended the set on a 5-2 run to close out the third set on an ace by senior Maria Avila (Goffstown, N.H.). 
• Colby-Sawyer jumped ahead in the fourth set leading 5-1 on another kill by Skourtis and an ace by Hathorn. Another 8-2 run by the Chargers highlighted by two kills by Majenski pushed the lead to 17-7. Colby-Sawyer kept the 10-point lead the whole way through winning the match by a 25-14 final. 

Post Game Press:
"We played really well as a team", said junior Katie Mollberg (Naples, Fla.). "We didn't let the ball hit the floor, we were talking and we were moving. The defense was there and the sets were there. I think we played really well today."

Inside the Numbers:

• Mollberg led the offense with a career-high 18 kills on a .310 kill percentage to go with nine digs and two assists. Majenski tallied 14 kills with three digs, while Skourtis added 11 kills and two digs. 
• Patnode led the passing with 35 assists to go with a career-best 18 digs and four service aces. 
• Defensively junior Olivia DeShane (Grand Rapids, Mich.) added a great day with 16 digs. First year Bree Bacon (Brookline, Mass.) added a big day with four aces and six digs. 

Up Next:
The Chargers will host Framingham State University on Saturday, September 16th with a 11:00 AM start time. 

For the latest on Colby-Sawyer Athletics, follow the Chargers on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CSCathletics), Twitter (www.twitter.com/CSCathletics) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/CSCathletics).