Volleyball Rolls Past Misericordia, 3-0, to Finish Off Weekend Slate

TOWSON, Md. - The Goucher College volleyball team completed a busy weekend of matches inside the Decker SRC Arena in style on Saturday afternoon, as the Gophers coasted past Misericordia in a 3-0 sweep.

Earlier in the day, the Gophers fell to visiting Bridgewater, 3-0. With the split, Goucher is now 7-7 on the year.

Goucher 3, Misericordia 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18)

After suffering their second straight setback of the weekend against Bridgewater, the Gophers bounced back in a big way against Misericordia, rolling to a three-set win, their fifth of the season to date.

The opening set of the win was a back-and-forth affair, with Goucher finally taking control with the match tied up at 21-all. There, the Gophers scored four of the final six points of the set to go up, 1-0, on the Cougars.

The second set was similar to the first, as once again Goucher took control late. This time, with the match tied up at 20-20, the Gophers scored four of the next five points to go up 24-21. Misericordia, however, made a run, scoring back-to-back points to make it a 24-23 game, but a kill from sophomore Greta Coss (Bowie, Md.) clinched the set win for the Gophers.

In the third and what turned out to be the final set of the match, the Gophers pulled away in the middle of play, turning a 14-13 Cougar lead into a 23-15 lead of their own after a 10-1 run put Misericordia away for the afternoon.

Overall in the win, Coss led the attack yet again for Goucher with a 16-kill performance, marking the third time in the Gophers' last four games she has posted exactly 16 kills. Coss also recorded nine digs, three service aces and three block assists in the victory, as well.

Elsewhere, first-year Kaya Melchor (Mililani, Hawaii) finished with eight kills, and first-year setter Tes DeJaeger (Norwalk, Conn.) had 29 assists and seven digs. The defensive unit was led by first-year Nelisabel La Court Ruiz (York, Pa.), who finished with 14 digs.

Bridgewater 3, Goucher 0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-18)

In their first match of the day, the Gophers were unable to get the best of Bridgewater in a three-set defeat, as the visiting Eagles led the entire match.

Overall in the loss, Coss led the offense, finishing with seven kills, while also collecting seven digs. Melchor and sophomore Bianca Brown (North Brunswick, N.J.) had five kills, apiece, while, DeJaeger finished with 14 assists and 14 digs to lead the Gophers in both categories in the defeat.

The Goucher College volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, as they take on McDaniel inside the Decker SRC Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

--GOPHERS--