Volleyball Cruises Past Gators on Senior Night

TOWSON, Md. -- On a night where Goucher honored seniors Megan Chalk (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), Addie Lanzarotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Culver City) and Tori Rain (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), the entire team turned in one of its best performances of the season en route to a 25-21, 25-6, 25-7 victory over Notre Dame (Md.) at the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

The Gophers (11-18) have now won back-to-back matches, while the Gators (12-10) were swept for a second consecutive match.

After an extended Senior Night presentation beforehand, Goucher started off sluggish in the first set, falling behind 12-6 early on. The Gophers, however, rattled off 11 of the next 13 points and they never trailed again in the match. Kills from Chalk and Lanzarotta sealed the opening set.

Sarah Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) served to begin the second set, and she had a pair of aces as Goucher scored the first six points to take a commanding lead.  The Gophers would later go on an 11-0 run to extend their advantage to 20-4. Johnson ended the set with her fourth kill of the frame. The 25-6 final margin was Goucher's largest since a 25-5 win over Washington Bible on Sept. 9, 2010.

The Gophers did not let up in the final set. After the Gators managed an ace to cut their deficit to 7-5, Goucher won 18 of the final 20 points to end the match.

Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) led the attack with 10 kills, which tied a season-high. Chalk added eight kills and a team-high 18 digs, while Lanzarotta chipped in seven kills and eight digs. Rain had a team-best four aces to go along with 14 digs.

With the victory, the Gophers have now won 13 matches in a row over the Gators, a streak that dates back to 2006.

Goucher concludes its regular season schedule with a 3 p.m. home matchup against Eastern Mennonite (9-17) this Saturday.