WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon Women's Volleyball fought back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Saint Joseph's of Maine in five sets on Tuesday evening. The Fighting Scots played their best ball down the stretch and tallied a season-high 57 kills on the way to a 3-2 win over the Monks.
Gordon knew Tuesday's non-conference matchup would be a tough one for them. After all, the Fighting Scots were handed a 3-1 loss in Standish, Maine last season on the Monks' home court. The Fighting Scots looked to return the favor, but their plans appeared to be foiled in the early going.
The two teams traded points back and forth for a hearty portion of the first set, until Gordon was able to take an 18-15 lead off the serve of Joy Kimmel (Madison, Conn.). The Monks battled right back to take a 19-18 advantage and eventually opened up a 23-20 lead to force the Scots to take a timeout. Gordon responded well to the minute-long huddle and won four straight points to bring themselves within a point of a big opening-set win. Saint Joseph's had other plans, staving off a set point before ultimately 27-25 on a pair of Gordon errors.
A narrow first-set loss did not set the Fighting Scots on a bad trend and they cruised through the second set 25-16. The only time Gordon trailed in the second set was after the initial point on a lengthy rally. Gordon's offense seemed to put the Monks on their heels and the Fighting Scots were able to minimize their mistakes to pull even in the match.
Saint Joseph's and Gordon settled back into a seesaw battle in the third set with the two teams fighting to a 19-19 tie late in the game. Emilee Penman (Montville, Conn.) served five straight times for points to put the Scots in a 2-1 hole.
The Fighting Scots never left a doubt in the fourth set, leading by as many as 12 points in the stanza before holding on for a 25-15 win. The equalizer set up a winner-take-all fifth set. Kimmel's two service aces in the final set helped separate the two teams late and Gordon took a commanding 15-9 win to clinch its fifth victory of the season.
Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) led the Monks with seven kills, while also pitching in 19 digs. Libero Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.) led all Monks players with 28 digs, while Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) had 23 assists to pace the offense.
Gordon's solid offensive night was led by Faith Gerdes (Wall Lake, Iowa) with 17 kills, while Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) and Jessica Burdick (Brewerton, N.Y.) chipped in 13 and 10 kills apiece. Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) had 33 digs, while Kimmel finished two assists short of the single-game record of 52.
Gordon is back in action on Saturday when they host a tri-match with UMass-Dartmouth and Daniel Webster beginning at 10 a.m. Saint Joseph's also plays on Saturday at home against Lesley.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
