MADISON, N.J. – Sophomore
Teeya Desgoutte posted 14 kills and 13 digs but the Drew University women's volleyball team lost a close 3-1 decision to Susquehanna University in a Landmark Conference tilt Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gym.
The River Hawks won by scores of 25-23, 25-15, 12-25, and 25-22. The back-and-forth affair featured 22 ties and 10 lead changes.
Sophomore
Emily Shirk added 11 kills and 14 digs for the Rangers, who saw their three-match winning streak come to an end, while classmate
Abigail Pereira added 11 kills and made just two errors on 27 kills for a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman
Alyssa Rachwal added 39 assists while junior
Lauren Gaza scooped 24 digs for Drew, which is now 2-2 in Landmark Conference play.
Stella Robinson paced Susquehanna (6-12, 2-2 LC) with 10 kills while Keira Roach served up four of the team's 13 aces.
Neither side led by more than four in a tight first set. The Rangers held their final lead at 15-14 before the River Hawks went in front to stay with a 4-0 spurt. Desgoutte led Drew with five kills in the stanza.
The second set was close in the early going, and the Rangers trailed just 17-14 before Susquehanna closed the game on an 8-1 run. Desgoutte threw down four more kills in the period.
Drew was in control from the start in the third set, opening on an 11-2 run. The Rangers led 14-7, then settled any doubt with a 6-1 run. Shirk paced the Rangers in the set with four kills.
Like the opening two sets, the fourth was also a nailbiter, as it featured 11 ties and six lead changes. Susquehanna led by four – the largest lead of the set for either team – at 22-18, but the Rangers would not go quietly. Drew scored the next two points on a kill from Periera and an attack error, making it 22-20.
Another SU error made it 23-21, prompting a River Hawk timeout, and a kill from sophomore
Marissa Guajardo pulled the Rangers within 24-22 before the visitors ended the match with a block. Pereira accumulated four of her kills in the final set.
The Rangers return to action on Tuesday, when they visit the University of Scranton at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference matchup.
