Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Gordon College hit at a .457 clip over the final three frames to dig itself out of a two-set deficit for a 3-2 decision (24-26, 20-25, 25-15, 25-13, 15-8) against the University of New England on Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's volleyball action Wednesday night (Sep. 28).

The Fighting Scots (6-8, 2-0 CCC) started the evening with a 9-4 lead in the opening set, but four unanswered by the Nor'easters (3-9, 1-2 CCC) soon flipped things in the hosts' favor (16-14) and sparked a 12-7 stretch that made it 24-21. The visitors were able to pull even at 24-all, but a service error followed by a Mina Regnery ace edged the hosts in front. Grace Mueller was 5-for-5 on swings in the period to pace UNE.

There was just one lead-change in the 2nd, as well, as UNE countered Gordon's initial point with six in-a-row. A couple service aces from Morgan Lynch and a kill by Lauren Davenport got the Nor'easters rolling. The Scots closed to within two points on five occasions between 17-15 and 22-20, however, winners from Kailyn Reilly and Olivia Hand sealed the stanza.

Gordon was on top for the entirety of the 3rd, and maintained a margin of at least five after assuming an 11-4 edge. Things went back-and-forth during the early moments of the 4th, until four straight gave the Scots a 10-6 cushion. After trading a few, an 10-1 run padded the spread (21-9) and all but sent the match to a deciding set.

The visitors broke away from 2-all in the 5th with a 6-1 spurt (8-3). Points from Hand, Davenport, Mueller, and Pavlyuk kept UNE within relative striking distance (3 or 4), but Gordon carried its momentum right to the finish.

The Fighting Scots notched 37 kills against just five errors over the course of sets three through five, bringing the night's hitting percentage to a solid .312.

Valerie Nilan had 15 kills and hit .560 for the contest to power GC, while also sharing in seven of the squad's 10 blocks. Jordan Shaduk topped all players with 16 kills, and Annie Murphy added 13, for the attack that received 55 assists out of Kate Howe. Joey Keltner chalked up a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs. Nikki Batson had a match-best 22 digs to go with four aces.

For the Nor'easters, Mueller's 10 kills led a balanced offense. Hand posted nine kills, Davenport totaled eight, Pavlyuk put up seven, and Reilly contributed six. Addie Miller supported with a double-double of 29 assists, 14 digs, and three kills. Along the back line, Griffin Chaffin-Quiray also collected 14 digs, and Davenport chipped in with 13 more.

UNE will have a day of rest before entertaining Simmons University as Homecoming Weekend begins on Friday (5 p.m.).