Traveling to Newport, Rhode Island this evening, Gordon College Volleyball took on Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) competitors Seahawks of Salve Regina University. The Fighting Scots were bested by their hosts 3-0 after three close-run sets (28-30, 22-25, 15-25).

Valarie Nilan led the Scots in tonight's conference rivalry, locking in 11 kills while Jordan Shaduk was right behind coming in with 10. Meanwhile Kate Howe helped her team out with 34 assists on the night. 

How It Happened

• Salve Regina bolted out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but the Fighting Scots quickly bounced back thanks to a pair of kills from Emily Schneider to cut the Seahawks' lead to one (8-7). The Scots earned their first lead of the night as the blue and white capitalized on a trio of Seahawks' miscues to go on top, 15-13.  Gordon held on tight, maintaining the upper hand, but the home team battled back to tie it at 23-all before going up by one, 24-23. Both sides traded points throughout the extended first set, but Salve benefited from home court advantage to steal the 30-28 victory.
• Both sides went point for point to open up the second set before Salve used a 5-0 run to propel the home team to a 13-9 advantage. The Fighting Scots continued to battle, shrinking the deficit to two (19-21) thanks to consecutive kills from Shaduk and Annie Murphy. Salve got those two points back to make it a four-point game, forcing Gordon to call a timeout. The Scots came out of the timeout ready to roll, immediately scoring the next two points to remain in the fight, but it wasn't enough as Salve held on for the 25-22 win.
• With a 2-0 advantage, Salve marched out to a 10-2 edge in the third frame. Gordon as always, continued to battle, as the blue and white came within four after a Nilan kill (14-18). However, Salve's offense exploded to close out the frame en route to a 25-16 win and overall 3-0 sweep of the Scots.

Beyond The Box Score

• Gordon returns to action on Thursday, October 7 to host Springfield College at 7 p.m. on Kanas Court.