Cardinals Eliminate Gophers in Landmark Quarterfinals

WASHINGTON — Early offensive onslaughts from Catholic in each of the first two sets helped end Goucher's season in the Landmark quarterfinals this evening, with the Cardinals coming away with a 25-11, 25-9, 25-16 victory.

Catholic (23-14) advances to play second-seeded Susquehanna this Friday. Goucher ends its season at 12-19, improving by three wins from last year and finishing with its best winning percentage since the 2009 squad went 17-12.

Each of the opening two sets were decided quickly. The Cardinals jumped out to a 9-1 lead in set one and an 8-2 margin in set two, and they would not relinquish either of those advantages.

The Gophers also fell behind 5-1 in set three as well, but this time they were able to battle back. A kill from Addie Lanzarotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Culver City) started a stretch in which Goucher grabbed nine of the next 10 points, with a Lanzarotta ace capping the rally and making the score 10-6 in favor of the Gophers.

Goucher maintained a 15-13 lead after a kill from Megan Chalk (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) before Catholic's offense went on another run, winning 12 of the last 13 points to close out the match.

The match was the last of the four-year careers for seniors Chalk, Lanzarotta and Tori Rain (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial). Chalk had six kills, finishing her career second in Goucher program history with 1,353 total, and a team-high 18 digs, while Rain followed with 10 digs.

Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) added six kills for the Gophers, while Michelle Tweedie (Accra, Ghana/Lincoln Community School) and Sarah Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) each assisted on three blocks.