Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
WENHAM, Mass. – Gordon Volleyball defeated both of their opponents in a mid-season tri-match at the Bennett Center on Saturday afternoon. The Scots opened the day with a 3-1 win over nearby Salem State, before handling Lesley 3-0 in the final match of the day. Salem State swept Lesley as well, in the second match.
Coming home was just the thing to get the Scots back on track in what has been an up-and-down 2013 season. Gordon won handily at Mass. Maritime on Tuesday, but Saturday's slate looked to be a bit tougher on the Scots.
The Scots were slow out of the gate in the opener against Salem State, as the Vikings jumped out to the early 10-8 lead. However, Gordon overcame a few mistakes to keep the game within striking distance. With the match tied at 16 points a side, the Scots finally made their move, winning nine of the final 13 points to take the first set 25-20.
Gordon put things into cruise control in the second set, as the rolled to a 25-11 win over the Vikings to put the match victory within reach.
Salem State recovered in the third set thanks to heady play by Jazmin Santos and MacKenzie Carpenter, forcing the Scots into a fourth set. There Gordon took control of the match for good and gutted out a 25-21 win to notch their eighth victory of the season.
In match two, Salem State responded from their early defeat by rolling to a 3-0 win over Lesley. The Vikings were more efficient on offense and their scores reflected their solid play.
Carpenter put up 28 assists in the win over the Lynx and Emily Peay led the way with 11 kills and two blocks for the Vikings. They cruised to a 25-13, 25-23, 25-21 victory to improve to 3-10 on the season.
Danielle Johnson had nine assists and an assisted block in the loss for Lesley.
After a three-hour layover, Gordon took their home court again versus the visiting Lynx. The Scots were ready to play in the final match, as they won the first set 25-8 quickly, to make a resounding statement to their opponent.
Gordon kept enough distance between the Lynx and them the rest of the way, winning the final two sets 25-17 and 25-20, to secure the win. The Scots capped off a perfect week and kept a three-match win streak going with their impressive showing on Saturday. They improve to 9-11 overall, while the Lynx fall to 6-12 with two losses.
Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) finished with 52 assists between the two games, with Laura Schmidt (Stuart, Fla.) being on the finishing side on many of them. Schmidt led all Scots with 21 kills on the day, while Jessica Burdick (Brewerton, N.Y.) and Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) finished with 12 and 11 kills respectively.
Gordon is back on the floor Tuesday evening when they travel to UNE for a CCC matchup. The Scots are still searching for their first conference victory of the season.
