Araiza Acum-Santos posted a season-high 21 kills in final match of the Gordon Tournament, as the St. Lawrence University volleyball team rallied after a first-set defeat to Maine Maritime for the 3-1 win in the second game of Saturday.
That win accompanied a straight-set loss to host Gordon in the first game of the day Saturday. The Saints ended the tournament 1-2, returning to the North Country with a 4-6 record.
"It was nice to finish the weekend with a much needed W," said Saints head coach
Shelly Roiger. "Our defense was solid all weekend, but I thought it reached a higher level vs Maine Maritime. There were a lot of long rallies in the match and our defense led to more offensive opportunities."
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Match 1: St. Lawrence 0, Gordon 3 (11-25, 11-25, 20-25)
The Saints stayed within a point through the early rallies, trailing 5-4 before the Fighting Scots scored four in a row.
McKayla Pollard and
Audrey Bibbins teamed for a block that cut the deficit to 10-6, but Gordon answered with a six-point run to lead 16-6 and continued on to win the set by 14.
Gordon scored the first six points of the second set and later ripped off an eight-point run to lead 14-2. The Saints responded with scoring bursts of their own, including back-to-back points from
Bridget Gammons and
Vanessa Latam kills and a service ace from
Cassady Smith that made it 20-8.
Kaitlyn Putman delivered a kill on the final point for St. Lawrence in a 25-11 decision again.
The Saints hit. 162 in the third set. St. Lawrence jumped in front 2-0 and used a five-point run, highlighted by three straight service aces from Gammons, to lead 8-3. The set was tied at six separate times, including at 18-18 before the Saints went ahead 20-18. Gordon then scored the final seven points, closing on back-to-back service aces.
Latam finished with six kills on a .417 attack percentage, 11 digs and two block assists. Gammons added five kills and three aces, and Smith led the Saints with 16 digs.
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Match 2: St. Lawrence 3, Maine Maritime 1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19)
The opening set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than two points through the first 18. Back-to-back Saints kills tied it 17-17, and the score was level again at 18-18 before Maine Maritime scored five straight for a 23-18 lead. St. Lawrence answered with two points to trim the deficit to 20-23 but could not get closer.
Annika Flittie and Acum-Santos each had three kills in the set.
The Saints took control early, scoring five in a row for a 9-2 lead. Maine Maritime then answered by scoring eight of nine points to tie it 12-12. But St. Lawrence stuck with it, answering with four straight points and led the rest of the way in the second.
In the third, St. Lawrence led 9-6 after another three-point burst, and the set was tied at 10-10 and 11-11 before the Saints scored six of the next seven points to go up 17-12. Maine Maritime scored four straight late to make it 23-21, but the Saints closed out the 25-21 win with the final two points.
In the fourth, Maritime opened with the first two points, but St. Lawrence answered with a four-point run and pushed ahead 13-10 on a five-point stretch. The Saints then scored six straight for a 21-13 advantage and put the match away 25-19. St. Lawrence hit .233 in the set, its best of the match, with 16 kills.
In addition to Acum-Santos, Gammons added 12 kills on a .333 attack percentage, and Flittie had 12 kills, two aces and 14 digs. Latam recorded 42 assists and 14 digs, and Smith paced the defense with 23 digs again, also adding five aces.
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Up Next:
St. Lawrence returns home Wednesday for a contest against Plattsburgh State as they continue through non-league contests.
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