Gordon falls to ECSU

Lauren Kranyak receives the serve.

On Tuesday night, our team played a hard fought match at home against a tough ECSU team. After losing the first two sets, we were able to come back and take the third but dropped the fourth set and consequently, the match (15-25, 19-25, 25-23, 14-25).

This match was a good measuring stick for us. Last year, we played ECSU on their home court and lost 3-1. It was one of our all-around better matches of the season. Even though the score was the same this year, the improvement that our team has made since last season was evident, even to the opposing head coach, as he commented after the match.

So while we have come a long way, we still know that we are capable of being a better team than we were on Tuesday night. Specifically this week in practice, we're working on out of system offense and decision making. Striving for our potential and seeing how much better we can become are exciting motivators! Tonight we take on Curry College at 7 pm in a home conference match. We'd love to see you there!

Gordon volleyball conquers Vermont

For the second year in a row, our team has traveled to Vermont for the Green Mountain Invitational. It has been a good opportunity for team bonding and allows us to see the beautiful mountains and fall colors. We won the invitational for the second year in a row, beating Saint Joseph's College of Brooklyn and Green Mountain College in 3 sets each. I was proud of our confident play and the way we encouraged each other this weekend.

Stopping at Hathaway Farm in Rutland, VT was one of the highlights of this trip. The farm boasts the biggest corn maze in Vermont, a barn full of animals, tetherball, and rubber duckie races. Our team enjoyed all aspects of the farm, as you can see below. :)

The entire team at the beginning of the corn maze

A laughter-filled tetherball game

 Cornfield and mountains - Vermont is beautiful!

Claudia and Martyna petting the pygmy goats

Joy found a friend!

Yes, we enjoyed ourselves. :)

Gordon beats Regis, begins conference play

Last week, we played a pair of challenging matches that tested our character and endurance. First we played Regis on Wednesday. We won the first two sets but then Regis, rallied by their raucous fan base, came back to win the next two. I was proud of the effort our team demonstrated in the fifth set, making some good decisions at key points to pull out the set and match win.

Kranyak attacks the ball while Chelsie Clemens covers.

 
On Saturday, our team started conference play with a match against Salve Regina. They are always a tough, aggressive opponent and we were looking forward to playing them. Our strong serving kept them out of system for a good portion of the match. Lauren Kranyak led the charge with 4 aces and Joy Kimmel and Andrea Amado followed with 2 each. In the end, we were unable to pull out the win. It was a good introduction to conference play for us, as we expect to see several other strong opponents in the next few weeks.

This week, we look forward to our match at Wentworth tomorrow and then a trip to Vermont this weekend!

Scots finish 1-2 at Colby College Invitational

Junior MB Kate Williams

This weekend, our team had a great opportunity to test ourselves at the Colby College Invitational. Our first round match resulted in a tough 0-3 loss to the host Colby Mules. Saturday morning brought another 0-3 loss to reigning North Atlantic Conference champion Maine Maritime. But Saturday afternoon, the Scots came back with a 3-0 win over UMaine Farmington to end the weekend. The challenge of the Colby Invitational allowed us to examine our strengths and weaknesses before heading into conference play against Salve Regina next weekend.

We also had plenty of team bonding time on the bus and in the hotel. We got our fill of sweets with ice cream at Friendly's and a stop at Yummy's candy shop in Kittery on the way home! Never a dull moment with the Gordon volleyball team. :)

Gordon volleyball stays perfect, Kranyak honored as Athlete of the Week

The Fighting Scots continued their win streak with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-8) win over Becker last night. Outside hitters Claudia Amado and Lauren Kranyak led the offense again. Claudia had 10 kills, six aces and eight digs, while Lauren had seven kills and 10 digs.

Lauren is also being honored as Gordon's Athlete of the Week, for her exceptional play during the first four matches of the season. Read the full article here.

Gordon wins Home Invitational and remains undefeated

Saturday was a great day of volleyball for our team. We had the opportunity to host 6 teams at our home invitational and ended the day with 3 wins and the invitational championship! Senior outside hitters Claudia Amado and Lauren Kranyak led the offense in wins over St. Joseph's College (CT), Simmons College and Bay Path College. I was especially proud of our team for the 5-set win over Simmons, coming back from being down 0-2. Claudia Amado was named MVP of the tournament and junior middle blocker Kate Williams was named to the all-tournament team. Keep up the good work, Scots!

Scots Win 3-0 in Home Opener

Yesterday started off our season with a 3-0 win over Albertus Magnus! It was a hard fought game, with close scores in each of the sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-21). It was exciting to start off our season at home and to be able to see some results from our hard work in preseason. Outside hitter Lauren Kranyak led the offense with 13 kills and Andrea Amado, a senior setter, tallied 25 assists. I'm proud of our team and look forward to our home invitational tomorrow!

Equally as exciting as the win is our team's partnership with Free2Play this year. Free2Play is a division of Not For Sale, an organization which fights against the injustice of human trafficking. Free2Play raises money for sports equipment and programs for people who have been victims of human trafficking. This season, each member of our team has pledged to donate $1 for every set we win and an additional $1 for every match win. So last's night win has already raised $64! We're excited to see how much we can raise throughout the season. Go Scots!