MONCLAIR, N.J.—Gordon Volleyball reeled in a pair of big wins on the opening day of the North Jersey Challenge, beating Baruch and host Montclair State in back-to-back matches. The Fighting Scots rallied from a first-set loss to handle Baruch, before pulling out a five-set thriller against a talented Red Hawks squad in a late match.
 
In the first match of the day, Gordon handed Baruch College a 3-1 loss on the neutral court. First-year Mackenzie Hinds (Higganum, Conn.) had a breakout game for the Fighting Scots with a season-high 18 kills, which doubled the next highest total on the team. Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) continued her solid showings at the setter position with 36 assists and ECAC Libero of the Week, Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) added 16 digs.
 
Things started out slow for the Fighting Scots, as Baruch took a 10-4 lead in the opening set. Gordon was able to claw all the way back and eventually took a lead at 18-17, but could not close out the rally fully in a 25-22 loss.
 
Baruch carried that momentum into the second set, blitzing the Scots out of the gate with a 10-1 advantage. Unfazed, Gordon mounted another impressive comeback to take a 17-15 lead later in the set. This time the Scots were able to hold onto the rally and never relinquish control back to their opponents, winning 25-18.
 
The Fighting Scots bucked the trend of falling behind early by participating in a back-and-forth third game.  Baruch took a 15-13 lead at the midway point of the set, when Gordon took control of the pace. The Scots took 11 of the next 14 points to hold a 24-18 lead with only a point to go. Baruch did not go down without a fight and made things interesting by winning the next five points. Gordon won the final point to edge the Bearcats 25-23.
 
A game of runs stayed the course in the fourth, but Gordon was able to outlast Baruch to pull of its third victory of the season.
 
Gordon was even sharper in its second match, albeit against a favored opponent. The Red Hawks came into the match at 4-1 on the season and 22-3 in its last 25 home matches.
 
The Scots proved up to the challenge by taking a fifth set 15-10 and improving its ledger to 4-4 on the year.
 
The first two sets of the match were of the marathon variety with the two teams splitting them. Gordon took the first set 27-25, while fighting off three set points for the Red Hawks. Montclair returned the favor in the second set. The Scots had a set point at 28-27, but the Red Hawks churned out three consecutive points to tie things at one set apiece.
 
Each team won by a comfortable number in the third and fourth games to force a winner-takes-all final. The Fighting Scots never trailed by more than one point in the finale and gutted out a 15-10 game to down the hosts.
 
Hinds, Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.), Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) and Meghan Hokanson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) all pitched in double-digit kills as Gordon scored 15 more points than its opponents. Hinds averaged 20 kills per match for the day after improving her earlier effort with 22 finishes. Gordon hit .212 as a team.
 
Cooprider put up incredible numbers in the second match of the day, breaking the Gordon record for assists in a five-set match with 61 in total. Risma kept busy with 28 digs.
 
The Fighting Scots head to Madison, N.J. tomorrow to take on Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham and New Rochelle at 10 a.m. and noon.