WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon Volleyball celebrated its Senior Day festivities with an important 3-1 victory over rival Eastern Nazarene to stay alive in the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoff chase. Seniors Faith Gerdes (Wall Lake, Iowa) and Laura Schmidt (Stuart, Fla.) combined for 20 kills to power the Fighting Scots past the Lions at the Bennett Center on Saturday morning.
The two CCC teams entered the weekend with a chance to remain in contention for the final conference playoff berth. After a disappointing loss to Curry on Wednesday, Gordon was looking to regain their footing in the race in a must-win for the Scots. Eastern Nazarene entered the day one game back of Wentworth for the final spot, but the Leopards hold the tiebreaker in event of a tie.
Gordon started off the first set in cruise control, jumping out to an 11-2 lead thanks to three kills by Gerdes. The Lions never panicked despite the early hole and managed to claw themselves back with three points at 15-12, midway through the first set. Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill, W.Va.) was a force for the Lions all match and was the major catalyst for the Lions' 10-4 run to make things close. Gordon built its lead back up to as many as seven points, but once again the Lions came roaring back to tie the set at 22 apiece.
A kill by Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) and two attack errors by the Lions settled the final three points, as Gordon held on for the 25-22 win in the opener.
The teams switched roles in the second set, as the Lions jumped out to the early 5-0 and forced Gordon into a quick timeout. The Fighting Scots battled back and took their first lead of the set at 12-11 on a kill by Jessica Burdick (Brewerton, N.Y.), who ended up leading the team with 11 kills on the day. The two teams went back and forth for the remainder, until Gordon was able to pull within set point at 24-20. ENC got one point back on a kill by Jenkins, but Burdick ended the set one point later off a set by Joy Kimmel (Madison, Conn.).
The third set was owned by the Lions from the very start. Gordon could not get anything going at the net, while Jenkins had her strongest set of the match. ENC raced out to a 19-7 lead, but Gordon won 10 of the next 11 points to make things interesting. The Lions stopped the run with three straight points of their own and won the third set, 25-20.
Keeping the game of runs theme, Gordon managed to put together a handful of long runs in the fourth and eventual final set. ENC kept things close at 13-9 in Gordon's favor when the Fighting Scots' offense rolled into fifth gear. Gerdes, Burdick, Kimmel and Schmidt all registered eye-popping kills down the stretch for the Scots, while keeping the outside hitters of ENC at bay. The Fighting scots took the final set 25-12, the biggest differential of the match.
Jenkins led all hitters with 16 kills, while also coming up with four service aces during the Lions big third set. ENC's lone senior also came up with 10 digs on the day. Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) and Kayla Dean (Lansdale, Pa.) also had great days for the Lions with seven and six kills respectively. Lauryl Berger (Laurel, Del.) dished out 30 assists, while Oksana DiCamillo (Nottingham Township, Pa.) put up 17 digs on the back line.
Kimmel had 35 assists for the Fighting Scots, who had 46 total kills on the day and a season-low in conference play with only 16 errors. Kimmel also had an individual season-high with seven kills, keeping the Lions off guard for much of the match. Gerdes and Schmidt both had 10 kills, and finished with .381 and .321 hitting percentages respectively. Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) returned to her libero post with a strong game, adding 32 digs.
Schmidt, Kimmel, Gerdes, Mary Snow (Gilford, N.H.), Shaylyn Roach (South Weymouth, Mass.) and Vicky Cottle (Wilton, Conn.) were all honored before the game for their contributions to the Gordon Volleyball program over the last four years.
Gordon has an all-important matchup at home on Tuesday, when they play host to Wentworth with a bid to the CCC playoffs on the line.
