Gophers Defeat Nittany Lions to Earn Tri-Match Split

WESTMINSTER, Md. — A three-set victory over Penn St. Abington salvaged a split of today's matches for Goucher, which recovered after a 3-1 defeat to host McDaniel to start this afternoon's tri-match.

The Gophers (5-7) handed the Nittany Lions (2-6) a 25-15, 25-18, 25-17 setback. Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) paced the Gophers with nine kills and a strong .500 attack percentage. Michelle Tweedie (Accra, Ghana/Lincoln Community School) added five kills while Kelly Budge (Harrington Park, N.J./Northern Valley Old Tappan) and Meredith Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) had four apiece. Budge also totaled a team-high 15 digs and Johnson fired in four aces.

Goucher never trailed in the opening two sets, and after taking a 5-4 lead the Gophers were up for good in the third set as well.

Earlier in the day, Goucher ran into a McDaniel squad which had lost only once on the season coming in. The Green Terror (8-1) kept that momentum going today, registering a 25-16, 25-14, 18-25, 25-6 triumph over head coach Kelli Wilkinson's Gophers.

Val Kirsch (Westport, Conn./Staples) had 17 digs in the losing effort, coming up one short of her season-high. Erika DiPasquale (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) also cracked double figures with 10 digs of her own. Kuehl (eight kills) and Budge (seven kills) led the offensive attack.

McDaniel picked up its ninth win later in the afternoon with a straight-set victory over Penn St. Abington to complete the tri-match.

Goucher returns to the court at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a road match at Lancaster Bible.