DUDLEY, Mass.—Gordon Women's Volleyball rolled to its fifth win in six matches, beating host Nichols in three sets on Tuesday evening. Newcomers Amanda Snyder (San Jose, Calif.) and Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) paced the Fighting Scot attack, as Gordon stayed unbeaten in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-17 triumph over the Bison.
Facing a first-year varsity program, Gordon was in control for the majority of the match. The Fighting Scots spread attack received contributions from seven different players, but none more impressive than the two rookies. Snyder was the only Scots in double-figure scoring with 11.5 points thanks to 11 kills and a block assist. Tafoya shared the block with Snyder and added seven kills on 10 attempts for a sweltering .700 hitting percentage for the match.
Gordon led big at the start of the first set, building a 10-4 advantage to force Nichols into a timeout. The Bison won six straight points to tie the opening game, but Gordon refocused and built up a comfortable lead for the remainder of the set.
The Scots' fast starts continued in the second set with a 5-0 lead, but once again the home team responded with a run to close the game to a single point. Not to be outdone, Gordon turned in another six-point stretch of its own and never allowed the Bison to get back within six points for the rest of the set.
Nichols shook off the tough start and led the third set at the midway point, but Gordon's big point streaks did them in once again. Trailing 13-12, the Scots won six straight points off the serve of Kristen Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) to take a five-point edge. The two teams traded points over the next stretch, but Gordon was able to close out its opponents at the very end.
Renee Cooprider (Hopkinton, Mass.) put up 23 assists and three kills to help Gordon's consistent attack. The Fighting Scots hit .163 as a team and nearly doubled the amount of kills finished by the Bison.
The serving game was Gordon's lone tough spot, as the Fighting Scots ended up with a season-low three aces compared to nine service errors.
Gordon (8-7, 3-0 CCC) will look to keep things moving on Thursday when they host Lesley (2-8) at the Bennett Athletic Center at 7 p.m.
