WENHAM, Mass.—Down to its last chance, Gordon Volleyball won the final four points to beat rival Endicott in the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinals. The Gulls came all the way back from two sets down and had two match points until Gordon made its final run to clinch a spot in the CCC title game on Saturday. The Fighting Scots won the five-setter 26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 16-14.
 
Gordon improves to 21-9 on the season and punches its ticket to a showdown with top-seeded Roger Williams on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Bristol, R.I. The loss snaps a four-match win streak for the Gulls, who bow out of the CCC tournament with a 22-10 record. They will await a potential ECAC bid.
 
The Bennett Center was bumping from the very first serve and Gordon fed off its energy early on. After dropping the second point of the match, the Fighting Scots went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 10-1 advantage. A pair of timeouts was able to settle down the visitors, as Endicott embarked on a 22-12 run over the next 20 minutes to take its first lead of the match.
 
Gordon fought back to even things at 24 apiece before a pair of kills from Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) and Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.) sealed the opening set, 26-24.
 
The second set script was flipped on its head, as it was Endicott who raced out to the big lead. The Gulls led by as many as seven points and held a comfortable 17-11 advantage entering the home stretch.
 
Gordon had other ideas by rattling off six consecutive points to tie things at 17. Each team put together a minor run that had Endicott sitting with a 23-22 lead with only a few points to play. Petersen, who lead all players with 25 kills, was at the forefront of the Gordon rally once again and the Scots clinched three straight points to put the Gulls in a two-set hole.
 
Endicott's Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) willed her team back into the match in the third set. On the brink of a third-set loss and potential sweep, the CCC Player of the Year pounded the Scots in pivotal points down the stretch, including in the penultimate rally. The junior had 20 kills in total to lead the Gulls for the match.
 
The Gulls handled the Scots in the early stages of the fourth set and held off a late rally to force a final game. Endicott never trailed in the fourth and Gordon was unable to get closer than within two points.
 
Gordon grooved its way to a 12-8 lead in the final set and looked well on its way to a thrilling victory. Endicott was unfazed by the pressure, turning the momentum in an a mere instant. The Gulls won six straight points, including a service ace to give themselves two match points at 14-12.
 
The Fighting Scots survived four long points in a row and Petersen capped the incredible match with her 25^th kill.
 
McIntyre contributed 22 total points for the Gulls, which included two service aces. Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) served up 38 assists and six Gulls contributed double-digit digs. CCC Second-Teamer Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) led all Endicott players with 27 digs. Lexi Watts (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) and Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) also had a standout games with 10 kills each.
 
Petersen led the way for the Gordon offense with a .144 hitting percentage, but Mackenzie Hinds (Higganum, Conn.) had her best game since the last matchup between the two rivals, with 13 kills. Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) almost matched her school record with 42 digs, while Kristen Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) added a career-high 32. Petersen also had her highest digs output of the season with 24.
 
Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) had a game-high 50 assists to pace the Gordon offense and Labbadia provided five total blocks for the game.
 
Gordon beat Endicott twice in the same season for the fourth time in school history and the first since 2001.