Salkehatchie Volleyball Earns First Win Over Wake Tech

USC Salkehatchie Volleyball made program history by defeating Wake Technical Community College for the first time during a tri-match that also featured Fayetteville Technical Community College.

Salkehatchie opened the day against Fayetteville Tech with a strong first-set victory before falling in the next three sets. Gabriella Zezza led the offense with seven kills, Brielle Krause led the team in service aces and Martina Sommaruga recorded 24 digs.

“The skill level of my team is the highest it has ever been,” Head Coach Dani Aquino said. “However, we have struggled to keep our mental strength high enough to match our skills. We took down FTCC easily in the first set, but that familiar doubt crept back in, and we lost the next three sets.”

Following a break and a mental reset, Salkehatchie returned to the court determined to bounce back against host Wake Tech. The team responded with resilience, recovering quickly from shifts in momentum throughout the match. After surrendering the third set, Salkehatchie regained control and secured the historic 3-1 victory.

“Runs and dips happened throughout the match, but each time, we recovered quickly,” Aquino said. “We gave up one set in the third, but our toughness won out, and we took them down 3-1 for a record-setting Salkehatchie win!”

Heloisa Bernardo powered the offense against Wake Tech with 11 kills, while Sommaruga added five service aces. Alessia Ciotti delivered a dominant performance at the net with five solo blocks that ended points.

The victory marked the first time in program history that USC Salkehatchie Volleyball has defeated Wake Tech.