NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College volleyball team won its first two games of the season, defeating Curry 3-0 and rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat Salem State 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at The Nest.

It was the first time since 2016 the Falcons won its first two matches of the season. Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had 10 kills in the first match followed by 24 in the second. Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) set a career-high with 41 assists against Salem State.

In the win over Salem State, Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) notched her 1,000th career dig.

THE BASICS

MATCH 1: Albertus Magnus 3 | Curry 0

MATCH 2: Albertus Magnus 3 | Salem State 2

MATCH 1 vs. Curry

SET 1: Albertus 25 | Curry 15

SET 2: Albertus 25 | Curry 17

SET 3: Albertus 25 | Curry 23 

BOX

RECORDS:  Albertus (1-0) | Curry (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus never trailed in the first set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead early behind four aces, two of which came from Alexys Signor (North Haven, Conn.). The Colonels briefly cut the deficit to 13-9, but it would be as close as they'd get in the opening frame as the Falcons closed out with a 12-6 run the rest of the way. Pelaez had three kills and Joismar Aviles (Hatillo, Puerto Rico), two during the final run of the set.

• Set two saw both teams split the first 20 points before the Falcons took control, going on a 10-4 run taking advantage of four errors from Curry and aces from Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyca, Colombia), Signor and Pelaez. The Falcons scored the final three points of the set, the final on an ace from Matheus to take the 2-0 lead in the match. The Falcons finished with a .615 attack percentage in the set.

• In the competitive third set, the Colonels led by as much as five points at 19-14 after an ace from Emma St. Cyr as well as leading 22-19 as a fourth set loomed. However, the Falcons scored six of the final seven points, including a kill and ace from Pelaez, and kills from Gordon and Aviles to take the opening match.

LEADERS

Albertus

• Majo Pelaez - 10 Kills

• Shalese Gordon - 16 Assists

• Shalese Gordon - 5 Digs

• Majo Pelaez - 4 Aces

• Joismar Aviles - 1 Block

Curry

• Meghan Abbott - 5 Kills

• Emma St. Cyr - 10 Assists

• Sonja Matheson - 7 Digs

• Meghan Abbott and Sonja Matheson - 2 Aces

NOTEWORTHY

With the win, the Falcons tied the all-time series against Curry, 4-4.

MATCH 2 vs. Salem State

SET 1: Salem State 25 | Albertus 23

SET 2: Salem State 28 | Albertus 26

SET 3: Albertus 25 | Salem State 19 

SET 4: Albertus 25 | Salem State 23

SET 5: Albertus 15 | Salem State 7

RECORDS: Albertus (2-0) | Salem State (1-1)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first set which included four straight points capped by an ace from Aviles. The Vikings rallied to tie the set at 12-12, but three consecutive errors by Salem State and two aces from Signor put the Falcons back up, 17-12. Salem State fought back to tie the set at 22 before another kill from Aviles put Albertus back up 23-22. However, the Vikings scored the final three points which included kills from Presley Shairs and Gianna Mahoney to steal the first set.

• The Vikings led 20-10 in the second set, but a furious 14-3 rally from the Falcons, which had kills from five different players, including Emma Fallon (Harwinton, Conn.), Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.), Aviles, Matheus, and Pelaez gave the Falcons a 24-23 lead and a chance to take the set. The two teams would tie three more times in the set before the Vikings scored the final two, the last on a kill from Bella Coccia to go up 2-0 in the match.

• The Falcons began their comeback late in the third stanza, turning a 16-16 game into a decisive set win. The Falcons finished on a 9-3 run as Pelaez had kills on the final four points to make it a 2-1 match. She had five of her game-high 24 kills in the set. Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) had two kills in the set for the Falcons. Albertus held the Vikings to a -.091 attack percentage in the set.

• Albertus scored the first four points of the fourth set which included two kills from Pelaez and one by Fallon. The Falcons maintained control for the first half of the set, leading by as much as 19-13. However, the Vikings scored six straight points to tie the set at 19-19 and then eventually took a 22-20 lead after back-to-back attack errors by the Falcons. Albertus battled back with the next two points before a kill from Gracie Dailey put Salem State back up 23-22. The Falcons tied it back up after a kill from Gordon and two errors from Salem State sent the match to a final set.

• Albertus left little doubt in the final set, taking a 10-4 lead behind an ace and kill from Sierra and two kills from Matheus. Matheus added one more kill and Pelaez scored the final two points for the Falcons on kills, completing the comeback.

LEADERS

Albertus

• Majo Pelaez - 24 Kills

• Shalese Gordon - 41 Assists

• Amanda Zdru - 22 Digs

• Alexys Signor - 4 Aces

• Paula Matheus - 4 Blocks

Salem State

• Bella Coccia - 7 Kills

• Celia Carbone - 15 Assists

• Kailey Roche - 15 Digs

• Four tied - 2 Aces

• Allie Ulmschneider and Presley Shairs  - 2 Blocks

NOTEWORTHY

• Zdru became the second player in program history to achieve the 1,000-dig feat. She now has 1,017 in her career, which is second all-time at Albertus.

• It was the first time in Gordon's career she surpassed 40 assists in a match.

• The win was the first career win for the Falcons against Salem State in four all-time matches.

• The two-set comeback was the first since achieving the feat against Lehman in 2018.

UP NEXT

The Falcons travel to Yeshiva for their first road test of the season on Tuesday, September 3 at 8 p.m.