BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) had 20 kills, nine digs, and a pair of blocks to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Gordon in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Tuesday night.
Winners of seven straight the Leopards improve to 20-2 overall and 4-1 in CCC play, marking the second straight season the Black & Gold has won 20 or more matches. The Fighting Scots fall to 11-9 (2-3) with the loss.
Wentworth jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks in part to a pair of kills from sophomore Rogoz. Gordon came back to score the next three points to tie the score at 3-all, the first of seven ties before the Fighting Scots took a 12-10 lead on a sophomore Amanda Snyder (San Jose, Calif.) ace. A pair of Rogoz kills knotted the score at 12-all. Trailing 13-12, Wentworth jumped ahead, 17-15, on a kill from sophomore Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.), forcing Gordon to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Fighting Scots scored the next three points to take an 18-17 lead, a lead that would swell to 20-18. Kills from Rogoz and freshman Caroline Rupp (Sayville, N.Y.) tied the score at 20-all. The score would be tied two more times before a kill from sophomore Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) and an ace from sophomore Jenny Curtiss (Larkspur, Colo.) gave the Fighting Scots a 24-22 lead and Gordon took the first set, 25-23. Rogoz had 11 kills in the frame for the Leopards while Snyder had seven for the Fighting Scots.
The second set saw the Leopards score the first three points, thanks in part to senior Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) who had a block assist and a kill. Wentworth upped its lead to 6-2 on a kill from senior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) and took a 12-6 lead on a junior Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) ace. Two consecutive kills from Snyder cut the lead to 12-8, however sophomore Katie Clouse's (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) kill started an 8-0 run which gave the hosts a 20-8 lead on a block by Rogoz. A kill from Tafoya ended the run, however, Gordon would get no closer than 11 as the Leopards evened the match with a 25-13 win. Rogoz had four kills while sophomore Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) had a pair of blocks for Wentworth. Gordon junior Mackenize Hinds (Higganum, Conn,.) had four kills and a block. The Leopards hit .318 in the frame (8-1-22) and held the Fighting Scots to a -.067 attack percentage.
Opening the third set, Wentworth took a 9-4 lead, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Quick. Gordon closed the gap to 10-7, thanks to two Leopard errors, before the Black & Gold opened the lead to 14-9 after Quick and Lassiter combined for a block. After a service error made it 14-10, Wentworth scored seven of the next 10 points, taking a 21-13 lead on a Lassiter block. Gordon used a 10-3 run to pull within one at 24-23 after a kill from Tafoya, however, Quick slammed down a kill to end the set, 25-23. Quick had five kills in the set and Lassiter had a pair of blocks. Snyder had six kills in the set for Gordon.
Set four featured seven early ties as the teams battled back and forth at the beginning before Wentworth took a 12-8 lead off a Gordon attack error. The Fighting Scots scored three straight points to come within one at 12-11 and again at 13-12 on a kill from Snyder. Wentworth used a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 22-15 on a kill from Rupp. Hinds ended the run with a kill, however Lassiter answered with a block to give the point back to the Leopards. Gordon pulled within five at 24-19 but an attack error gave the Black & Gold the 25-19 win. Wentworth hit a match-high .519 in the set (16-2-27).
Rogoz made just two errors on 48 swings, hitting .375 for the match. Quick recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs to go along with three blocks. Lassiter and Shea had four kills apiece, while Lassiter also chipped in with four blocks. Clark served three aces, sophomore Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) had 24 assists, Clouse had 20 assists and two aces, and sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had 17 digs.
Snyder led the Fighting Scots with 19 kills and nine digs while Hinds had 10 kills. Freshman Ashlyn Gergins (Murrieta, Calif.) finished with 44 assists.
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