Road-Weary Gophers Fall in Four Sets to Shorewomen

CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- A 22-day, eight-match road trip ended with a loss tonight for the Goucher volleyball team, as the Gophers fell 9-25, 25-22, 19-25, 21-25 to Washington (Md.). Goucher returns to the Decker Sports & Recreation Center this Sunday for a Landmark Conference play-in game against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Nothing went right for the Gophers in the opening set, as they were held under 10 points for the first time in a set this season. The Shorewomen (18-7) got off to a strong start in the following set as well, scoring seven of the first nine points.

Goucher (9-18), though, was able to rally. Megan Chalk (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) registered back-to-back kills to get things started, and the Gophers slowly began to chip away at the deficit. An ace from Corinne Kahler (York, Pa./York Country Day) leveled the set at 19, and she would soon add another ace to make it 21-19 and close out a 5-0 run. Goucher clinched the set on an attack error from Emily Hoyle.

Washington took an early lead once again in the third set, jumping ahead 6-2 and eventually extending its lead to as high as 13-6. A kill from Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) brought the Gophers within two at 20-18, but the Shorewomen rattled off the next four points to regain control.

Down 22-15 in set four, Goucher went on a 6-1 run, capped off by a kill from Michelle Tweedie (Accra, Ghana/Lincoln Community School) to reduce the margin to 23-21. A pair of setting errors, however, ended the rally and sealed the match for the Shorewomen.

Meredith Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) had a team-high 23 digs, demolishing her old season-high of 13 in a win against Lancaster Bible earlier this month. Chalk finished with 14 kills and 10 digs while Kuehl added eight kills for the Gophers. Sarah Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) chipped in 29 assists, 10 digs and three aces.

Goucher now returns home for three straight matches, beginning with USMMA at 4 p.m. this Sunday. The winner of that match earns the right to travel to third-seeded Catholic on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the first round of the Landmark tournament.