Volleyball Drops 3-1 Decision to Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. – The Gordon College women's volleyball team rallied from an early deficit to post a 3-1 victory (17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-10) over visiting Bridgewater State University on Wednesday night at the Bennett Center.

The Fighting Scots improve to 8-2 on the season, while the Bears fall to 1-4.

Junior middle hitter Annie Murphy (Wenham, Mass.) registered a match-high 14 kills and posted an impressive .560 hitting percentage to lead the way for Gordon. Murphy also contributed six assisted blocks. The Fighting Scots also received 12 kills and match-highs of four aces and 11 digs from junior outside hitter Joey Keltner (Anacortes, Wash.), as well as a match-best 35 assists to go along with four kills from senior setter Kate Howe (Belfast, N.Y.).

Sophomore outside hitter Lily Welch (Whitman, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with nine kills, a .300 hitting percentage, eight digs, one ace and two assisted blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) and senior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.) checked in with nine and seven kills, respectively, for the Bears, while senior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.) dished out 25 assists and sophomore outside hitter Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) recorded three aces.

The Bears started strong winning the first set by a margin of 25-17. Brogioli tallied three aces, five digs and a kill in the opening set, while Welch and sophomore right side Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) notched three kills apiece and Votta dished out seven assists. Bridgewater posted a .348 hitting percentage and limited Gordon to a .143 percentage on the attack in the opener. The Fighting Scots committed eight attacking errors.

The Bears led 10-7 in the second set before a series of attacking errors changed the momentum as the Fighting Scots reeled off ten straight points to take a 17-10 lead. Bridgewater committed five errors during the run while Zeltner notched three aces. Gordon would go on to take the set, 25-14. The Fighting Scots recorded a .294 hitting percentage and served four aces in the second set. The Bears struggled on the attack in set two with a -.190 percentage.

The third set featured nine ties. With the score knotted at 20-20, a BSU attacking error followed by back-to-back kills by Murphy and another BSU attacking error put the Fighting Scots at set-point. Murphy then gave the hosts a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match with her seventh kill of the set.

The Fighting Scots dominated the fourth set, 25-10, to secure the 3-1 victory. Zeltner registered five kills in the frame while five Gordon blocks helped lead to nine Bridgewater attacking errors.

Gordon finished with 45 kills and a .299 hitting percentage in the match with nine blocks and eight aces. Bridgewater finished with 31 kills, a .030 hitting percentage, three blocks and seven aces.

The Bears open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play next Tuesday evening when they host Framingham State University at six o'clock. The Fightin Scots entertain Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Roger Williams University on Saturday afternoon at three.