GORDON FIGHTS OFF PRIDE FOR 3-2 WIN

WESTON, Mass. – Gordon College fought off a pesky Regis College Pride for a 3-2 win on Wednesday night in non-conference women's volleyball action in Weston, Mass. Regis battled back from an 0-2 deficit, but Gordon defeated the Pride by set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 18-25, 15-9. Vanessa Noesi (Methuen, Mass.) posted a team high eight kills and also added three total blocks for the Pride.

With the win, the Fighting Scots improve to 7-2 on the year while Regis drops to 3-5.

In game one, Regis grabbed an early 2-1 lead before the Fighting Scots took an 8-5 advantage on a Regis error, prompting a Pride timeout. The Fighting Scots wasted no time extending their lead as back-to-back kills by Alex Nawoichik (Hamilton, Mass.) and Chelsie Clemens (Santa Barbara, Calif.) followed by another Regis attack error gave Gordon a 22-12 lead. The Pride would claw back to 23-15 on a service ace by Jackie Silver (West Hills, Calif.) and a kill from Noesi, but it was too little, too late as Gordon closed out game one with a 25-17 win.

In game two, the Fighting Scots jumped out to an 11-4 lead capped off by a Kate Williams (Jennerstown, Pa.) kill. Following a Regis timeout, Gordon extended its lead to 19-7 by receiving service aces from Keri Hustus (Eastford, Conn.) and Joy Kimmel (Madison, Conn.). As was the case in the first game, Regis battled back to as close as 20-12 on a Sarah Gold (North Hollywood, Calif.) service ace, but Gordon's cushion was big enough to sustain the run by Regis as the Fighting Scots took game two, 25-16.

Both teams traded points to start game three as the score was tied as late as 7-7 before Gordon called its first timeout of the match. The Pride capitalized on the momentum and built a 13-9 lead on an attack error by the Scots. The teams battled back and forth as the Regis lead never shrunk below three, before a Caitlyn Walsh (Taunton, Mass.) ace gave Regis a 20-16 lead and prompted another Fighting Scots timeout. Gordon made it interesting in the end, forcing two quick Regis timeouts following a kill by Kate Williams that made it 22-19 and a Sarah Gold service error that left Gordon only facing a 24-20 deficit. Back-to-back blocks by Kate Williams, with an assist on one by Nawoichik, made it a 24-22 game but Gordon could not complete the comeback as an attack error by the Fighting Scots gave Regis the 25-22 win.

Gordon came out looking to close out the match in game four as the Fighting Scots jumped out to a 7-1 lead before Regis called a timeout. The Pride responded to the break in action, going on a 6-2 run that led to Gordon calling a timeout of their own with the score 9-7. Both teams traded service aces - there would be 10 in the fourth game alone - before the Pride tied the score at 15-15. The Pride would not look back as they closed out game four on a 10-3 run, grabbing a 25-18 win and forcing a fifth and deciding game in the match.

In the final set, an Alex Nawoichik kill off a feed from Andrea Amado (Glastonbury, Conn.) gave the Fighting Scots a 3-1 lead before Regis battled back to make it a 5-6 game and forced a Gordon timeout. Vanessa Noesi picked up one of her two solo blocks on the night to make it an 8-7 game, but back-to-back kills from Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) extended the Gordon lead to 11-7. Regis would score twice more in the frame but the Gordon attack was too much to overcome as the Fighting Scots took the final game, 15-9, to secure the 3-2 win.

Regis was paced by a team-high 8 kills and three blocks by Vanessa Noesi while Julie Endara (Boca Raton, Fla.) posted five kills and Domingas Gomes (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with four of her own. Caitlyn Walsh dished out a team-high 14 assists while adding 15 digs. Sarah Gold led the team with 20 digs while Endara had 12 digs and Domingas Gomes added another 15. Kristen Amicangioli (Belmont, Mass.) also reached double-digits in digs with 11.

Gordon was led by a game-high 10 kills from Claudia Amado (Glastonbury, Conn.), while Nawoichik posted nine kills and Kranyak notched eight of her own. Kate Williams and Chelsie Clemens also added six and seven kills each, respectively. Andrea Amado handed out a match-high 36 assists while also posting 11 digs. Keri Hustus had a match-high 31 digs in the win, while Kranyak added 19 of her own with Joy Kimmel and Claudia Amado combining for 24 more on the evening.

The Crimson and Gold return to action on Saturday afternoon when the Pride hosts a non-conference tri-match with Husson University and Bridgewater State University. Regis takes on Bridgewater State at 11:00 a.m. and then wraps up the day with a 3:00 p.m. match against Husson. Gordon opens Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Saturday when they host Salve Regina at 1:00 p.m. in Wenham, Mass.