No. 6 Volleyball Upsets No. 3 Gordon in CCC Quarterfinals

WENHAM, Mass. (November 2, 2021) – No. 6 Western New England traveled to No. 3 Gordon earlier this evening for the opening round of the conference tournament where the Golden Bears came back from being down 1-0 to win the next three sets and earn the 3-1 upset win over Gordon to advance to the semifinals.

Records:

• Western New England: 12-13, 4-5 CCC
• Gordon: 14-10, 6-3 CCC

How It Happened:

Gordon opened the first set with the first two points before the Golden Bears were able to tie the set 2-2. The Fighting Scots responded with a 3-0 run to take a 5-2 lead and later did it again to extend their lead to 8-4. Gordon recorded five points to the Golden Bears' four when Western New England rallied for four unanswered points to get within one (13-12). This only motivated the Fighting Scots who scored six straight points to gain their largest lead yet, 19-12. Western New England was unable to recover and dropped the first set 25-15.

The second set was much more back-and-forth action with Gordon beginning leading 3-0. The Golden Bears too a 4-3 lead only for the Fighting Scots to tie the set 4-4 and then take a 5-4 lead. The second set was then tied four more times before the Golden Bears were able to gain control and record a 5-0 run to take their largest lead 12-8. The two teams traded points for the Fighting Scots earned the serve and tallied four straight points to tie the set 13-13. The set was once again tied seven times before Western New England earned two back-to-back points to lead 22-20. Gordon fought back to tie the set 24-24 before to kills from Sarah Scott earned the Golden Bears the 26-24 win in the second set and tie the match 1-1.

The Fighting Scots fought back and started the third set with a 5-2 lead. Western New England with Hailey Sell at the serve tallied three points to tie the set 5-5. The set was then tied 7-7 before the Golden Bears were able to score two more points and take a 9-7 lead. The back-and-forth action quickly began with the two teams trading points before a kill by Alissa Hawes earned Zoe Bozzay the serve for the Golden Bears up 12-9. After going up 13-9, Gordon took a timeout. After the timeout, the Fighting Scots earned two points to get back within two of Western New England (13-11). A 4-0 run by the Golden Bears earned them a 17-11 lead that they held onto until 21-15. The Fighting Scots then rallied for a 3-0 run to get within three (21-18). The Golden Bears held onto their lead and won the third set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Once again, the Fighting Scots started strong in the fourth set taking a 6-0 lead. The Golden Bears only tallied three points while Gordon took a 10-3 lead. The Golden Bears earned back the serve off an Isabelle Petty kill followed by a Scott service ace to rally the team for three points and get back within four (10-6). The back-and-forth action began again until Gordon led 15-11. The Golden Bears gained momentum and went on a 4-0 run to tie the set 15-15 and force Gordon into a timeout. Out of the timeout, Gordon scored to remain in the lead 16-15, but began the spree of ties. The set was tied seven times before a service ace by Taylor Deluga earned the Golden Bears a 23-22 lead and forced Gordon into a timeout. Deluga kept the Golden Bears in control earning another service ace after the timeout and make it match point with the Golden Bears leading 24-22. Gordon remained in the match working to tie the set 24-24. Scott earned the serve back to the Golden Bears with a kill to lead 25-24 and then scored the final point for Western New England to win 26-24 and earn the upset win over No. 3 Gordon.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Golden Bears ended the match with 44 kills, 44 assists and 60 digs along with 13 service aces and blocks.
• Scott led the team with 14 kills while also recording nine digs and one service ace.
• Taylor Geist recorded 22 assists in the match with four digs while Sell earned 18 assists with three digs and two service aces.
• Alissa Hawes earned a double-double with 12 digs and 11 kills while both Becca Mayer and Deluga earned 12 digs apiece.
• Deluga led the team with six service aces in the match.

Up Next:

The No. 6 Golden Bears will not travel to No. 2 Roger Williams on Thursday, November 4^th for the CCC Semifinals with first serve at 7 p.m.