Gophers Sweep Tri-Match to Finish 2016 Campaign

THE STORY:  The Goucher Gophers women's volleyball team finished the 2016 season strong with a pair of non-conference wins against the Bryn Mawr Owls and the Penn state-Abington Nittany Lions on Saturday, October 29th.  The two wins allow the Gophers to finish the 2016 campaign, Head Coach Kait Kozak's first, with a 6-19 overall record.

HOW IT HAPPENED:  In the first match of the day, The Gophers dominated the owls in three sets: 25-22, 25-15, 25-16.  The Gophers led the Owls in kills (29-19), service aces (10-1), and digs(50-48). 

In the second match of the day, the Gophers took charge of the first set with a 25-12 win, but PSU-Abington slowly built momentum over the second set. Goucher held off a late run to win 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead. The Nittany Lions  came charging back in sets three and four to win them 25-21 and 25-12, and  to tie the match  2-2.  Both teams competed hard in the final set but the Gophers came away with a thrilling 15-10 win.    Freshman Virginia Estes (Homewood, AL) had a career high 48 digs, and freshman Sarah Weeden (Monmouth Junction, NJ) added another 26.  The Gophers out dug the Nittany Lions 118-88. 

Head Coach Kait Kozak was pleased and observed that "it was a really good way to finish our season. I was very impressed with our fight in the final set of the day. I know we were physically and mentally exhausted, and we battled through it." 

INSIDE THE BOX: Versus  Bryn Mawr: Sarah Weeden: 10 kills, 18 digs; Kelly Budge (Harrington Park, NJ): 10 kills, 2 aces; Virginia Estes: 11 digs; and Olivia Rhodes (St. Charles, MO):  21 assists

Versus  Penn State Abington:  Kelly Budge: 14 kills, 14 digs; Sarah Weeden: 18 kills, 26 digs; Virginia Estes: 48 digs (career high); and Olivia Rhodes:  29 assists