BRIDGEWATER, Mass – Visiting Gordon College women's volleyball swept host Bridgewater State University 3-0 on Thursday evening at the Adrian Tinsley Center, in a non-conference contest.
With set scores of 25-15, 26-24, and 27-25 Gordon improves to 5-6 on the season while Bridgewater drops to 4-3.
Three Fighting Scots, Jordan Shaduk (Baltimore, Md.), Joey Keltner (Anacortes, Wash.) and Valerie Nilan (Valley Cottage, N.Y), added double digit kills on the day. Shaduck tallied 12 kills (.348 hit %) and two digs. Keltner added 11 kills (.280 hit %), six digs, and four service aces. Nilan posted 11 kills (.562 hit %). Junior Nikki Batson (Windham, N.H.) contributed 14 digs and three assists. Junior Kate Howe (Belfast, N.Y.) tallied 30 assists, three service aces, and four digs.
Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) led the bears with a .231 hitting percentage on four kills and added two service aces. Sarah Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) posted six kills, three service aces, and nine digs. Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) filled out the stat line with 17 assists, five service aces, and four digs. Victoria Caiano (Acushnet, Mass.) also added nine digs on the evening.
The first set of the match began with a high energy, hard-fought battle from both sides of the net. The Fighting Scots prevailed to pull away on a 12-2 run to eventually end the set 25-15. Gordon was paced by graduate outside hitter Shaduk with six kills. The Bears benefitted from eight Gordon errors in the set.
In another back and forth set, Gordon took the victory 26-24. Senior middle hitter Nilan led Fighting Scots with seven kills and her team took advantage of nine Bridgewater attack errors. Brogioli, Quintal, and Gowell combined for six services aces in the set.
Gordon closed out the match with a 27-25 victory in the third close set of the day. Sophomore outside hitter Keltner led the way for Gordon with six kills, and Shaduck added another five on the day. Quintal added another three service aces for the Bears in the third set.
Gordon posted a .225 hitting percentage on the evening, while limiting Bridgewater to a .022 hitting percentage. The Bears finished with 11 service aces, and the Fighting Scots finished with 14.
In upcoming action, both teams will take the court again this Saturday September 24th. The Bears will host MASCAC opponent Salem State University for a 2:00 PM match, while the Fighting Scots will travel to Amherst College for a 1:00 PM non-conference contest.