Hosting the No. 6 seeded Golden Bears of Western New England (WNE), Gordon College Volleyball was barely bested by their competitors in tonight's Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinal match. The Fighting Scots fought for every point of the four set contest but ultimately fell to the Golden Bears, 1-3 (25-15, 24-26, 20-25, 24-26).
For the Scots,
Valerie Nilan led her squad with 19 kills while collecting nine blocks on the night. Just behind her was freshman
Annie Murphy who recorded ten kills. Meanwhile,
Hayley Robinson did her job as the Libero, booking 27 digs.
How It Happened
- Gordon started off the night hot thanks to a forceful kill from Murphy to get the Scots going early on. The Fighting Scots went on to take an 8-3 lead over WNE and never looked back, dominating the first set for an overpowering 25-15 first set win due to a skillful kill from Nilan who hammered down the last point for the Scots.
- The Fighting Scots got on the board first once again, however this time the Golden Bears clawed their way back to the top, taking the lead 4-3. However their lead was short-lived as the Scots quickly came back to go ahead by one (7-6). WNE went on to string four points together before the Scots caught up with a rally of their own with a duo of kills from Joey Keltner and Nilan to tie it up 13 all. Both squads went back and forth, matching each other's points to hold the tie at 20 all before the Golden Bears broke the tie. However, Gordon battled back to deuce after WNE's third match point to reach a standstill once again, forcing the Golden Bears to call a timeout. WNE came back on the court to finish the set 26-24 with two kills from Sarah Scott.
- The Scots came back hungry to take charge as they got out to an early 5-2 lead before the Golden Bears once again came back to tie. The squads ping-ponged points until WNE went ahead 17-11 after a triad of uninterrupted kills. The Fighting Scots battled back to a three point deficit (19-22), however it wasn't enough as the Golden Bears locked in their second set win 25-20.
- Starting the fourth set off strong, Gordon jumped to an initial 6-0 lead thanks to a trio of blocks followed by a monstrous kill from CCC Player of the Year, Nilan. However, the Golden Bears slowly fought back to eventually reach a tie at 15 all. The Scots refused to go down, as a signature kill from Nilan gave the Scots their lead once again. Nevertheless, the Golden Bears put pressure on the Scots, taking the lead 24-22 before Gordon forced another deuce to stay alive. However it wasn't long before WNE went up to secure the bonus-ball set 26-24, ultimately upsetting the Scots 3-1.
Beyond The Box Score
