WENHAM, Mass.—A strong third set from MIT outside hitter Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) switched momentum in the match and the Engineers were able to orchestrate a 3-1 win over Gordon Volleyball on Tuesday night at the Bennett Center. Gebhard peppered the Scots to the tune of 19 kills and 11 in the third to keep Gordon from building off a second-set victory.
 
The Engineers improve to 5-0 on the season after clean sweeping the Morrisville tournament over the weekend. Gordon falls to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 at home.
 
Gordon surprised the regional power in the opening set after gaining an 11-6 lead in the early going. The Scots' attack was able to find holes in MIT's back line during the spurt to give themselves a little cushion. MIT quickly answered back with a 13-4 run to put them in the driver's seat for the opening set, but Gordon was not ready to give in just yet.
 
The Fighting Scots won six straight points to take a two-point advantage and force the Engineers into a timeout. The tactic worked for MIT, who closed out the game of runs with a six-point stretch of its own to close out the set.
 
A back-and-forth effort continued well into the second set. With MIT up 15-13, Gordon made a strong move with eight consecutive points on the serving arm of Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio). The junior libero paced Gordon during the stretch with three service aces in that span and helped build up a 21-15 lead. MIT could only garner two more points the rest of the way as the Scots evened things up.
 
The Scots remained persistent until midway through the third set when Gebhard took over the match for the Engineers. The junior found a rhythm with her setter Fiona Tanuwidjaja (Renton, Wash.) in the third and Gordon could not find a way to stop her.
 
MIT took the third set 25-14 and set its eyes on the clincher in the fourth game. The Engineers never trailed in the fourth after grabbing an early 12-4 advantage. Gordon crept back within five points late, but could not close the gab any further.
 
Gebhard finished with a game-high 18 kills for an impressive .372 hitting percentage. Tanuwidjaja put up 42 assists and nine digs, while libero Carly Silvernale (Bellevue, Wash.) led the team in digs with 14. Clark Farley (La Jolla, Calif.) led all players with four service aces.
 
Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) had the best statistical game for the Scots with eight kills and a .222 hitting percentage. Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) had 19 assists, while Risma pitched in 16 digs.
 
The Fighting Scots are back in action this weekend when they travel to two locations in New Jersey for the North Jersey Challenge. Gordon will play Monclair State, Baruch, Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham and New Rochelle in the two-day tourney.

Weird Stat of the Match:
Gordon is the first team to get a game from MIT in back-to-back seasons.