Women's Volleyball Fends off Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. – Kate McLane put down a match-high 17 kills to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Gordon Saturday afternoon in Conference of New England play.

With the win, the Leopards improve to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in CNE play while the Fighting Scots fall to 12-5 (1-1)..

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Trailing by an 8-5 score in the first set, Wentworth went on a 7-1 run and took a 12-9 lead on a Riley Schoonmaker kill. Gordon cut the lead to 13-12, however, three straight points which included a kill and an ace from Mika Swanson, put the Leopards on top, 17-13. After the Fighting Scots got the next point, the Black & Gold rolled off a 5-1 spurt and led, 22-15, after a Schoonmaker block and eventually took the first set, 25-17.
• Wentworth took a 4-2 lead to open the second set, with three of those points coming off kills by McLane. Gordon scored three straight to take a 5-4 lead before the Leopards reclaimed the lead, 7-6. Using a 10-2 run, the hosts took the lead back, taking a 16-9 lead. Swanson was a part of a pair of blocks that helped Wentworth pull to within three at 16-13 and eventually Wentworth came within two on four occasions, including at 24-22, but Gordon tied the match with a 25-22 win in the second set.
• Gordon opened the third set scoring the first three points before three straight Leopard points tied the set at 3-all. The teams traded points and the Fighting Scots took a 6-4 lead. Emma Sanders responded with a kill that started a 5-1 run and gave the Black & Gold a 9-7 lead after an Ava Rocchio kill. A 6-2 Gordon run gave the hosts a 13-11 lead but the Leopards responded with an 8-1 run and took a 19-14 lead on a Swanson ace. The Fighting Scots got as close as three (19-16), however, a 6-3 spurt, capped off by a McLane kill, gave the Black & Gold a 2-1 lead with a 25-19 win. McLane scored three of Wentworth's last four points.
• After the Fighting Scots scored the opening point of the fourth set, Wentworth rolled off eight straight points, with Amanda Zweifler serving seven straight points. Among those seven points were a pair of aces. However, Gordon used a 7-1 run and pulled within a point at 9-8. A Sanders kill started a 4-0 spurt that put the Leopards on top, 13-8. The Fighting Scots used a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14-all. With the scored tied at 17-all, Swanson and Sanders put down back-to-back kills to make it 19-17. Gordon responded with three straight points and led, 20-19. A service error and a Swanson kill made it 21-20 in favor of Wentworth but the hosts scored the next two points to take a 22-21 lead. The teams traded points and Gordon had set point at 24-23. However, three straight Leopard points gave the Black & Gold a 26-24 win.
• In addition to her 17 kills, McLane hit .333 and had three blocks. Sanders recorded 11 kills and eight digs, Swanson had six kills, two aces, and four blocks, and Schoonmaker had five kills, hit .444 (5-1-9), and had six blocks. Olivia Vaughn had 29 assists and 10 digs, while Zweifler had 26 digs and a pair of aces.

THE SERIES:

• Today was the 29th all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth has won the last four meetings as well as nine of the last 10 meetings.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Suffolk on Saturday.

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