SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Gordon Women's Volleyball split a pair of early-season tests on day one at the Springfield College Invitational on Friday evening. The Fighting Scots faced two teams who represented their conference in the NCAA tournament a season ago and showed well against some of the region's best. The Fighting Scots staved off a late rally to beat defending MASCAC champ Framingham State 3-2 before succumbing to host Springfield College 3-0 in the night finale.
Gordon will play another pair of matches on Saturday against Westfield State (0-1) and RIT (1-1), beginning at 11 a.m.
Match One: Gordon 3 – 2 Framingham St. (25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10)
The Scots came out firing on all cylinders with a .409 hitting percentage in the opening set as Gordon rolled the Rams early. Gordon held a 14-3 kill advantage through one set and maintained its consistency in the second to put themselves in the catbird seat, 2-0. A strong service game helped the Fighting Scots keep the Rams on their heels for much of the first two games and Gordon finished with 12 service aces for the match in comparison to only two for FSU.
Gordon continued to hit well in the third and fourth sets, but the Rams found a groove on offense to eke out both sets by a couple of points. The Fighting Scots ran out to an early lead in the fifth set and was never truly threatened on their way to a 15-10 victory.
Match Two: Gordon 0 – 3 Springfield (10-25, 16-25, 12-25)
NEWMAC favorite Springfield showed why it is considered one of the best teams in the region after a regional semifinal appearance in 2015. The Pride's three preseason All-American candidates had their prints at each level of Springfield's attack, and never allowed Gordon to get comfortable.
After hitting for .259 as a team in the season opener against Framingham State, Springfield's length limited the Fighting Scots to just a .012 mark in the three-set match. The Pride finished off 37 kills to only 22 for the Scots and they blocked nine Gordon attacks to control the match.
Quick Hits
· Senior Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.) led all Gordon players with 24 kills between the two matches. Meghan Hokanson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Mackenzie Hinds (Higganum, Conn.) both had strong showings in the victory over FSU with 13 kills apiece. Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) and Hokanson both had hitting percentages north of .400 in the match.
· Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) had the fourth highest assist total of her career with 52 against the Rams.
· Kristen Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) filled in at the libero spot for the evening and had 29 digs in two matches.
