Profs Outlast Gophers in Back-and-Forth Affair

TOWSON, Md. — Dramatic changes in momentum were commonplace during Goucher's home opener tonight against Rowan. After trading lopsided victories in the initial two sets, however, it was ultimately the Profs who came away with a 3-1 (25-13, 17-25, 25-19, 25-22) victory.

Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) led the Gophers (3-2) with 16 kills and a .433 attack percentage. Meredith Johnson (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) had a team-high 11 digs to go along with a pair of aces.

Rowan (2-3) ran away with the first set. The teams were deadlocked at eight early on, but the Profs rattled off 11 of the next 12 points to take command.

Goucher quickly responded in the following set, bolstered by a game-high .370 attack percentage. A kill from Michelle Tweedie (Accra, Ghana/Lincoln Community School) gave the Gophers a 24-13 advantage. Rowan scored the next four points, but Corinne Kahler (York, Pa./York Country Day) finished off the set with one of her four kills on the night.

It appeared that the Profs were going to control third set with ease as well after they jumped out to a 21-13 lead. Goucher made things interesting, though, by taking six of the next seven points to get within three at 22-19. Three straight Gopher errors, however, ended the rally.

Neither team held more than a four-point edge in a tight fourth set. Back-to-back aces from Malia Bruce (Brooklyn, N.Y./Essex Street Academy) leveled the set at 22 apiece, but Rowan claimed the next three points to end the match.

Danielle Havlicek had 11 kills to pace the Prof attack.

Goucher returns to the court at the Greg Giovannazzi Memorial Tournament, hosted by Johns Hopkins this weekend. The Gophers begin tournament play with a matchup against Stevenson at 4:30 p.m. Friday.