NEWPORT, R.I.—A comeback attempt fell short as Gordon Volleyball dropped a four-set match to host Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Scots dropped the first two sets, but came alive in the third to force another game before the Seahawks could close things out.
Gordon runs its season-long loss streak to five games and dip two games under .500 at 11-13. The Fighting Scots remain a game up on the Seahawks in the Commonwealth Coast Conference at 4-3 despite the loss. Salve Regina improves to 14-9 overall and 3-4 the CCC.
The Fighting Scots have three pivotal matches next week beginning with Eastern Nazarene in the home finale on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Gordon was forced to play catch up for a majority of the night, as Salve ran out to a lead that hovered between three and five points during the opening set. A nice string of points by the Scots closed the gap to 22-21, but the Seahawks rallied off three consecutive points to take an important early advantage.
A more even second set played out, but again Gordon was on the wrong end of a small lead for much of the game. Ultimately, Salve was able to win five of the final seven points to eke out another 25-21 victory
Gordon looked more in sync by the middle of the third set, breaking open a close game by taking a 21-15 lead thanks to a service error and service ace combo. The Scots were able to stave off any thoughts of a Seahawk rally, never allowing the home team to get closer than four points for the rest of the set.
Nothing seemed to go Gordon's way in the fourth. Salve Regina won the first six points of the set and the Fighting Scots were never able to claw their way back. The Seahawks built up a double-digit advantage at 13-3 and Gordon was only able to muster seven more points for the remainder of the game.
Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.) showed off her best stats of the season with 20 kills to only four errors for an impressive .296 hitting percentage. First-year Amanda Snyder (San Jose, Calif.) also had a nice afternoon with 12 kills and a .147 hitting mark. Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) led the team in assists and digs.
