NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) became the second Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball player to reach 1,000 assists, but the Falcons lost two four-set matches to New England College and Saint Joseph's College (Me.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday afternoon.

Gordon joins Jaiden Williams as the only other Albertus player to achieve the 1,000-assist feat. The moment came in the first set of the team's match against New England College. Gordon finished with 39 assists between the two matches, including 23 against Saint Joseph's (Me.).

Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had 14 kills in the first match and 16 in the second. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had 48 digs between the two matches.

THE BASICS

MATCH 1: New England College 3 | Albertus Magnus 1

MATCH 2: Saint Joseph's (Me.) 3 | Albertus Magnus 1

MATCH 1

SET 1: Albertus 25 | NEC 22

SET 2: NEC 25 | Albertus 20

SET 3: NEC 25 | Albertus 14

SET 4: NEC 25 | Albertus 21

RECORDS: Albertus (8-9, 2-5 GNAC) | NEC (8-10, 4-5 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons jumped out to an early lead in the first set, holding a 12-4 advantage early on after four kills by Pelaez and two from Emma Fallon (Harwinton, Conn.). Albertus would hold the large lead for a while, and extended it to 21-11. After a kill by Pelaez made it a 22-13 game, the Pilgrims scored the next nine points to tie the set at 22-22 behind two kills from Savannah Pilialoha and one from Jamie Hansen. However, a kill from Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.) put the Falcons back up  by a point and two errors from NEC closed out the set to give Albertus the 1-0 match lead.
• The second set saw the Falcons jump out to a 7-3 lead as Fallon had two kills while Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombia) had an ace early on. NEC battled back to take a 10-9 lead, but the Falcons scored the next four, including a kill apiece from Wallace and Pelaez to take a 13-10 lead. The two teams would tie  three more times, the final time at 18-18. The Pilgrims finished the set on a 7-2 run as Hansen and Pilialoha had kills for the final two points to tie the match, 1-1.
• Albertus once again jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third set as Matheus had an ace and a kill and Pelaez and Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) each had a kill apiece. From there, NEC went on a 17-2 run, including 13 straight points to take a commanding 20-9 lead as Tatiana Sampson had four kills in the process. With Albertus trailing 24-10, the Falcons rattled off four straight points, but the Pilgrims closed the set on a kill from Alexandra Seijas.
• The two teams split the first 12 points of the fourth set until the Pilgrims scored four straight to take a 10-6 lead. NEC went up by as much as 18-11, but the Falcons rattled off eight consecutive points, including two kills from Pelaez and an ace from Gordon as Albertus took a 19-18 lead. The two teams tied one more time at 21-21, but the Pilgrims scored the final four points, ending on an ace from Aurora Gutierrez-Macias.

LEADERS

Albertus

Majo Pelaez - 14 Kills

Shalese Gordon - 16 Assists

Paula Matheus - 4 Aces

Amanda Zdru - 22 digs

Nathalie Wallace  - 3 Blocks

NEC

Tatiana Sampson - 11 Kills

Alexandra Seijas - 18 Assists

Lily-Anne Heywood - 5 Aces

Alexandra Seijas - 13 Digs

Maeve Amarosa and Jamie Hansen - 2 Blocks

MATCH 2

SET 1: St. Joseph's (Me.) 25 | Albertus 21

SET 2: Saint Joseph's (Me.) 25 | Albertus 23

SET 3: Albertus 25 | Saint Joseph's (Me.) 18

SET 4: Saint Joseph's (Me.) 25 | Albertus 14

RECORDS: Albertus (8-10, 2-6 GNAC) | Saint Joseph's (Me.) (6-13, 3-3 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the first set tied, 4-4, the Falcons scored five of the next six points, including a kill by Pelaez and Fallon and an ace from Matheus. The Monks regained the lead with five straight points to take a 10-9 lead, before Albertus tied the set back up again at 11-11 after a kill from Joismar Aviles (Hatillo, Puerto Rico). The Monks then went on an 11-1 run that included six kills and two aces to take a 22-12 lead. Albertus battled back to get within three at 24-21 as Alexys Signor (North Haven, Conn.) and Aviles each had an ace, but the Monks scored the final point to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
• Albertus trailed 8-2 early in the second set until a 9-4 run - with two kills by Pelaez and one from - Fallon cut their deficit to 12-11. Albertus got to within one point two more times and eventually tied the set at 23-23, but the Monks scored the final two points, the final on a block from Kylie Giakoumis to take a 2-0 lead. Pelaez had three kills and Fallon, two in the set, while Matheus had two aces. 
• After the two teams split the first 16 points of the third set, the Falcons took advantage of three errors from the Monks to go with a kill from Gordon to take a 12-8 lead. The Falcons took an 18-11 lead on a kill from Matheus before the Monks got to within three points at 20-17. However, the Falcons finished on a 5-1 run that ended with back-to-back emphatic kills from Yarelis Torres as the Falcons took the third set.
• The Falcons conceded the first four points of the fourth set, but battled back to cut their deficit to 12-11 after four kills and an ace from Pelaez. It would be as close as Albertus would get as the Monks scored the next five points to take a 17-11 lead. Albertus wouldn't get any closer than five points the rest of the way.

LEADERS

Albertus

Majo Pelaez - 16 Kills

Shalese Gordon - 23 Assists

Paula Matheus and Majo Pelaez - 3 Aces

Amanda Zdru - 26 Digs

Nathalie Wallace - 4 Blocks

Saint Joseph's (Me.)

Hanna Webster - 8 Kills

Tamya Johnson - 18 Assists

Hanna Webster - 6 Aces

Victoria Briones - 16 Digs

Regan Noonan - 3 Blocks

NOTEWORTHY

• Pelaez has double-digit kills in each of her last six matches. Her 20.5 points against Saint Joseph's (Me.) was the fourth match she's had at least 20 points.
• Gordon has double-digit assists in 16 of 18 matches this season.

UP NEXT

The Falcons host Centenary at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 17 at 6 p.m.