Gophers Go 0-2 Against Centennial Opponents

CHESTERTOWN, Md. — Goucher bowed to a pair of Centennial Conference opponents today and remained stuck on nine wins this season.

The first match the Gophers played was against Franklin & Marshall and the Diplomats prevailed 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-13). After that, head coach Kelli Wilkinson's squad faced Washington (Md.) and the Shorewomen were victorious 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-15).

The Gophers tallied the first two points of their opening match, but the Diplomats (15-11) never trailed again in the first set after a kill by Julie Harvey put them up 5-4.

Goucher battled back from being down 8-0 in the mddle set to get as close as 17-16 on a service ace by Malia Bruce (Brooklyn, N.Y./Essex Street Academy), but the Gophers managed only three more points before F&M wrapped up the set on a Shae Murphy ace.

The Diplomats turned a 4-1 deficit into a 9-4 advantage in the third set by scoring eight consecutive points and later finished off the match by taking the final seven points.

The Gophers (9-20) never had a lead in the second match until a block by Hannah Kuehl (Plymouth, N.H./Plymouth Regional) put them up 10-9 in the third set. They also won the next point thanks to a service ace by Michelle Tweedie (Accra, Ghana/Lincoln Community School), but the Shorewomen (18-8) went ahead to stay with a run of six straight points that made the score 17-12.

No player for Goucher had more than 10 kills in the two matches combined and Val Kirsch (Westport, Conn./Staples) was the only one to reach double figures in digs in one of the matches as she was credited with 11 in the opener.

The Gophers are down to their final two matches of the season. They'll play at Shenandoah on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and at Bryn Mawr on Thursday at 7 p.m.