Seahawks improve to 16-1 with sweep of Gordon

WENHAM, Mass. — Salve Regina (16-1) continued its impressive season by defeating Gordon in straight sets in the Bennett Center on Tuesday night. Gordon matched the Seahawks in the early part of each set, but Salve's strong offensive sets controlled the pace of the match. 

The Fighting Scots have battled through many tough matches so far in 2013 and for a majority of their matchup with Salve Regina, it looked to suit them well. Gordon (6-10) came out running on all cylinders as they took the early leads in all three sets, but the Seahawks proved too much in a 25-17, 25-14, 25-12 victory over the Scots. 

Salve Regina's setter Taylor Violet (Tiverton, R.I.) and outside hitter Jennifer Duggan (Merrimack, N.H.) were two of the biggest contributors for the Seahawks sweep. Every time it looked as if the Scots had taken hold of the pace, Violet would set Duggan for a punishing attack. Duggan, the junior from Merrimack, N.H., tallied 15 kills on the night and only committed two errors. Her consistency kept the Scots on edge in the back half and she was able to find holes in Gordon's defense. 

Violet set up all 15 of Duggan's kills and finished with 27 assists on the night to pace the Seahawks' attack. Clare Adams (New Concord, Ohio) also had an impressive night with eight kills on 16 attempts. 

Lauren Kranyak (Locust Grove, Va.) finished with 22 assists for the Scots, while freshman libero, Maggie Risma (Hudson, Ohio) tallied 17 digs on the backline. Jessica Burdick (Brewerton, N.Y.) and Jenna Labbadia (Berlin, Conn.) each finished with impressive totals on the offensive half, with 10 and six kills respectively. 

Salve Regina will look to push its seven-game win streak to eight games on Thursday when the Seahawks travel to Smith College.