Souhegan's Anthony Giles-Mingolelli makes the sweet set during Friday night's quarterfinal loss at Salem. (Courtesy photo)

SALEM – The Souhegan volleyball team scooped up some serious momentum in Tuesday night’s Division I preliminary round upset on the road at Timberlane Regional.

The Sabers, seeded ninth, had hoped to carry it into Friday night’s quarterfinal at Salem High. Unbeaten and seeded No. 1, the Blue Devils simply weren’t willing to cooperate.

Pushed to the limit in the first set by Souhegan, Salem hung on to a 25-22 win in the opener then rolled in the final two sets, 25-12 and 25-17.

“We knew Souhegan would be tough,” said Salem coach Dan Rousseau, whose club moved to 17-0 and will head to Nashua North on Tuesday night (7 p.m.) to tangle with No. 4 Londonderry in the second of two state semifinals.

“We’re focusing in on limiting unforced errors. It showed today.”

Souhegan captain Max Ferguson and Michael Howell stood strong at the net, facing the ominous challenge of Salem’s twin towers – 6-foot-5 Jackson Gonyea and 6-foot-4 Tristan Witenko.

A Ferguson kill pulled Souhegan to within one at 22-21 in the opening set, forcing a Salem timeout.

But when the Blue Devils survived the scare, it pumped wind into their sails that the Sabers just could not duplicate.

Souhegan finishes up the spring at 8-10.