Volleyball takes match over Gordon

Box Score WENHAM, Mass. — Top Commonwealth Coast Conference volleyball squad Roger Williams fought off an upstart Gordon team to stay undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 win over the Fighting Scots.

The Fighting Scots kept things close in the first and third sets, but the strength on the outside proved too much for Gordon down the stretch in the sweep for the Hawks.

Roger Williams improves to 16-5 overall on the season and a perfect 5-0 in CCC play. The Hawks have yet to drop a single game in a conference match this season. Gordon's three-match win streak was ended and they fall to 10-12 overall—0-5 in the CCC.

Gordon came into the first set with plenty of energy and caught the talented Hawks by surprise with four kills by Faith Gerdes (Wall Lake, Iowa) and Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) to take a 6-2 lead. Roger Williams shook off the early deficit and stormed back to take a 10-7 advantage thanks to the passing ability of Maria Batas (Merrick, N.Y.).

The Fighting Scots never got closer than two points for the remainder of the set. Roger Williams held a 15-12 lead midway through the set before pulling away with a 6-0 run to put distance between the two teams. Gordon fought off four straight set points to make things interesting, but Roger Williams closed a 25-18 first set.

The Hawks controlled the second set from beginning to end. They opened the second frame with a 15-2 run with a highly efficient attack from their outside hitters. Gordon could not find a way to slow down the attack until the end of the set, but Roger Williams was still able to pull out a dominant 25-11 victory to put the Scots in a two-set hole.

Roger Williams raced out to another big lead in the third set at 17-10, but this time the Scots were able to respond to the adversity. Gordon got back within five points of the Hawks until Roger Williams closed the door with another 25-18 victory.

The Hawks sported a well-balanced attack from across the front line as their rotation worked to perfection. Kristen Boyer (Ephrata, Pa.) and Sarah McAniff (Redding, Conn.) paced the Hawks with eight kills apiece, while Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) and Katie Thieret (St. Louis, Mo.) finished with seven and six respectively. Nicole Weber (Poulsbo, Wash.) dished out 16 assists, while Josalyn Benson (Phoenix, Ariz.) split time at setter with 10 herself. Flaherty and Batas led the Hawks in service aces with three and two, while Flaherty led the team with 16 digs.

Gerdes led all hitters with 10 kills on the morning and a .194 hitting percentage. Joy Kimmel (Madison, Conn.) had 17 assists and two service aces, while Krystal Vander Ark (Santa Barbara, Calif.) finished with 12 digs to pace Gordon's defense.

Roger Williams hit .164 as a team, while Gordon ended the match with a .018 hitting percentage.

The Hawks look to continue their CCC dominance on Saturday afternoon at Wentworth, while Gordon will try for a conference win at Curry on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

- Release courtesy of the Gordon College Sports Information Department

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