WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon Women's Volleyball opened its 2015 campaign with a bang, defeating visiting Suffolk in straight sets at the Bennett Center on Wednesday night. The Fighting Scots grabbed a lead midway through the first set and never looked back in a 25-14, 25-17, 25-20 victory over the Rams.
 
A Gordon lineup full of turnover from the 2014 team took a little time to find its footing in the first set, as Suffolk fed off a couple of Scots errors in the early going. Led by two quick kills from Jane Buckley (Plaistow, N.H.), Suffolk took a 9-5 lead at the beginning of the opening frame when the Scots made a move.
 
Gordon rattled off nine consecutive points on the serving of freshman Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.). With a five-point lead in firm grasp, Gordon never trailed again in a 25-14 first set.
 
The Fighting Scots kept an arm's length between them and the Rams in the second set as well, quickly building a 15-5 lead over the first half of the stanza. A Scot offense that Suffolk was able to combat in the first set seemed to find its groove in the second. Senior Jess Burdick (Brewerton, N.Y.) contributed three kills during the early run.
 
Suffolk closed the gap to five points at 21-16 with a couple service aces by libero Emma Feeney (Monroe, Conn.), but Gordon shut the door by taking four of the final five points in the set.
 
The Plaid put forth a similar effort in the final set after opening a 16-6 advantage late in the game. Once again the Rams mounted a rally to make things interesting down the stretch with Feeney being the catalyst. She added two more service aces to her tally during a 6-0 stretch to pull Suffolk within four points at 20-16.  The two teams traded points back and forth the rest of the way, as Gordon was able to hold on for the straight-set win.
 
Suffolk was led by Feeney with her four aces and 14 digs at the libero spot in her collegiate debut. Setter Liz Kerek (Holbrook, Mass.) added 17 assists and Talia Lombardo (Windham, N.H.) led the team in kills with six.
 
Gordon's new-look top unit flourished in a fast-paced scheme. Sophomore Meghan Hokanson (Coon Rapdis, Minn.) led all players with 10 kills on 18 tries for a .278 hitting percentage. Burdick was not far behind with nine kills for a .222 mark. Junior Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) was second on the team in points for the evening with 10, contributing five kills, three service aces and two total blocks.
 
Cooprider had an impressive debut in a Gordon uniform with 32 assists and a team-high four aces. Libero Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) took her usual place atop the digs category with 15, but two other Scots joined her in double figures—Kristen Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Krystal Vander Ark (Santa Barbara, Calif.).
 
Suffolk has a six-day layoff before heading to Mass Maritime for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Gordon travels to Western New York on Friday for a four-match, two-day tourney at SUNY-Brockport.