WENHAM, Mass. - In the first match of the season, the Suffolk volleyball team ran into a strong Gordon squad, dropping a 3-0 match to the Fighting Scots Wednesday night at the Bennett Center.
Suffolk (0-1) kept pace with Gordon (1-0) in the opening and even took an 8-4 lead, but could not keep pace with an efficient Fighting Scots' attack. With the Rams ahead 9-7, the hosts rattled off nine straight points to make it a 14-10 set in their favor. The Fighting Scots held their momentum and took a double-digit point lead off an ace by Jenna Labbadia, before the first set was sealed, 25-14, on a Suffolk error.
The second set yield a different start as Gordon leapt out to a 10-3 edge and held that advantage midway through the match at 15-5. A Fighting Scot error combined with back-to-back aces from Suffolk with first-year Emma Feeney at the service line pulled the Rams within seven, 17-10. The Rams made another quick run to make it a six-point set, 22-16, but Suffolk couldn't recover as Gordon captured the set, 25-17, for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Similar to the second set, the Fighting Scots jumped out to a hefty advantage, 10-5. Gordon earned some more breathing room with a 5-2 run that saw them take a 15-8 advantage and they maintained that lead en route to a 25-20 set win, giving them a 3-0 match victory.
In her first collegiate match, freshman Talia Lombardo was Suffolk's top hitter with six kills in the match, while sophomore Jane Buckley provided five. Feeney had a team-high 14 digs and four service aces and sophomore Liz Kerek passed out 17 assists.
Gordon received a match-high 10-kill effort from Meghan Hokanson, while Jessica Burdick contributed nine. A balanced effort at the net helped the Fighting Scots as a trio of players notched double-digit digs with Maggie Risma's 15 leading the way. Kristen Cooprider and Krystal VanderArk tallied 13 digs and 10 digs, respectively.
Suffolk takes the weekend off and will return to action Tuesday, Sept. 8 when it travels to Massachusetts Maritime for a 7 p.m. match.