Volleyball Stopped in Tri-Match with Rams and Fighting Scots

Boston, Mass. – The Fitchburg State women's volleyball team fell to Gordon College (3-0) and Rams of Suffolk University (3-1) in tri-match volleyball action this afternoon.

The Basics

Match 1: Fitchburg State 0, Gordon 3 (12-25, 14-25, 19-25)
Match 2: Fitchburg State 1, Suffolk 3 (12-25, 25-19, 13-25, 14-25)
Records: Fitchburg State (2-19) | Gordon (12-9) | Suffolk  (9-15)

How It Happened – Match 1

Down 3-0 early the Falcons' battle to 3-2 with a kill by senior Lauren Riccardi (Tewksbury, Mass.). Gordon outscored the Falcons 7-2 to go ahead 10-5. Fitchburg capitalized on defensive miscues from the Fighting Scots to trail 13-10. Gordon would finish off set one with a 12-2 run.

From a 1-1 tie, the Falcons pushed out to a 7-4 lead with a kill from sophomore Emily Gelinas (Westfield, Mass.). Knotted 8-8 Gordon capped a 6-0 run with a kill from Valerie Nilan forcing a Falcon timeout. Back-to-back kills from senior Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) and Riccardi sliced the lead to 22-14 but that wasn't enough as the Scots took game 2.

In game three the Falcons raced out to a 5-1 lead, backboned on the service from newcomer Samantha Mirra (Burlington, Mass.). Gordon rallied with a 6-0 run to forge ahead 13-11. The Green and Gold battled back with a kill from Meredith Taylor (Reading, Mass.) and an attack error on Gordon to trail 16-20. Gordon would close out the match with a kill from Macie Carroll.

Inside the Numbers

 Junior Meredith Taylor had a team-high 8 assists, while Gelinas chipped in with 5 helpers and two service aces. Riccardi had 7 kills and two digs for the Falcons.

How It Happened – Match 2

Suffolk raced out to an 11-4 lead, scoring 6 straight points on Kenzley Bell's serve. The Falcons countered with a kill from Samantha Mirra to cut the deficit to 17-6. Suffolk took game one 25-12 finished with a kill from McKenna Keowen.

The Falcons rebounded in game 2 as they took a 4-0 lead out of the gate and extended the lead to 8-3 with a kill from Sariah Dyer (Raynham, Mass.). Suffolk countered to cut the advantage to 10-9. The Green and Gold held strong to extend the lead to 17-11 after a kill from Leah Sheehan and closed out the game with a kill from Dyer.

Both teams battled to a 6-6 score to start the third set with the Falcons' aided by a pair of services aces from Catherine Goodearl (Marstons Mills, Mass.). Suffolk then took charge with a 13-3 run stopped by a kill from Riccardi to make the score 19-9 en route to the 25-13 final.

Trailing 6-3 the Falcons ran a pair of kills from Dyer and Gelinas to even the score 6-6. An ace from Goodearl and a Suffolk mistake had the Falcons trailing 12-10. A pair of kills for the Rams extended their lead to 19-12. The Falcons rebounded with a kill from Sheehan but it wasn't enough as the hosts took the set and the match.

Inside the Numbers

• Riccardi and Dyer each had a  team-high 7 kills, while Meredith Taylor had 11 assists
• Gelinas added 2 kills, 9 helpers and a block for the Falcons

Up Next

Falcons are back in action on Wednesday when they host the AMCATS of Anna Maria College starting at 6:00PM.