WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon Volleyball split a pair of matches at a home tri-match on Saturday, falling to Roger Williams in the opener 3-1 before sweeping Framingham State in the final match of the day. The Fighting Scots suffered their first Commonwealth Coast Conference loss of the season against the conference favorite Hawks, but rebounded nicely to beat the Rams of Framingham for the second time in 2016.

The Fighting Scots and Hawks both came into the day atop the CCC standings at 4-0, but Gordon was the clear underdogs as Roger Williams entered the afternoon not having lost to a conference opponent since the 2013 season. Gordon was unfazed by the Hawks early on, as the Fighting Scots never trailed in a 25-18 opening set victory. Gordon led by as many as eight in the first set, which was spurred on by a 5-0 run in the middle of the game. Freshman Jenny Curtiss (Larkspur, Colo.) had two service aces during the span.

Roger Williams settled down in the second set and cruised to an easy 25-12 result to knot the match score at one. After posting a standout .209 hitting percentage in the first set, Gordon quadrupled its errors in the second, hitting well into the negative.

Two one-sided sets gave way to an even contest for the remainder. Gordon held a slight 20-19 advantage in the late stages of the third, but Roger Williams put together a 6-1 run to end the game to claim its first overall lead of the match.

On the arm of senior Cassandra Minogue (Manorville, N.Y.), Roger Williams looked poised to run away with the fourth set by building an 11-1 lead to start. However, Gordon countered with an 8-0 run to close the gap back to two points. The Hawks managed to put an end to the run and held Gordon to a few-point deficit for the rest of the match, as the Scots were unable to fully come back from their early hole.

Molly Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) led the way for the Hawks with 10 kills to only one error. The sophomore also finished off five total blocks, including two solo stops. Julia Fields (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) set up 24 kills, while libero Maria Batas (Merrick, N.Y.) dug up 19 attacks to pace the RWU defense. The Hawks combined for 12 service aces and nine blocks.

Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.) had her best match of the season with 19 kills and a .208 hitting mark. Amanda Snyder (San Jose, Calif.) also had a solid day on the attack. Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) finished with 30 digs and Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) threw up 38 assists in the loss. Petersen and Curtiss also finished with double-digit digs.

Match Two

Roger Williams earned a sweep of the day with a three-set win over Framingham State, which made the final one of the day more important for the Rams. The two-hour layoff did not seem to impact the Gordon attack as the Fighting Scots hit well into the positive in each of the three sets.

The first set was tied at 10 when Gordon made its move with six consecutive point, including three straight kills for Petersen and Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collin, Colo.). Framingham trailed by five or six for a majority of the rest of the set, but a 4-1 run right at the end made things interested before Gordon was able to close it out at 25-21.

A close battle ensured at the beginning of the second set with the teams playing to an 8-8 tie through 16 points. Another big Gordon run put distance between them and the Scots were able to run away with the second set 25-14. Long streaks ushered the Scots to another big win in the third and final set to beat the Rams 25-13.

Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) was the kills leader in each of the Rams' matches, hitting nine against the Fighting Scots in the finale. Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.) dug up 13, while Mackenzie Whalen (Norton, Mass.) assisted on 11 kills. Rackliffe also contributed three solo blocks and assisted on three others.

Tafoya had the best match of her young career with 12 kills and no errors on 19 attempts. Petersen rounded off her day with 10 more kills and 13 total points. Renee Cooprider assisted on 27 more kills and Risma led the Scots on defense once again with 20 digs.

Gordon's schedule remains tough with a big conference match at Endicott on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. The Fighting Scots swept the Gulls for the first time in a decade last season.

Of Note:

• ·        Gordon took a set from Roger Williams for the first time since the 2009 season.
• ·        The Hawks are seven-time defending champions in the CCC.
• ·        Framingham State has won three of the last four MASCAC championships.