HUNTINGDON, Pa. – In Friday's NCAA Regional semifinal two schools separated by five miles met almost 200 miles away from their respective campuses at Juniata College. The No. 24-ranked Haverford College volleyball team saw its season end and will be making the three-and-a-half hour drive home as No. 23 Eastern University won, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23), and will face Juniata in the regional final Saturday. Haverford was swept for just the second time this season.
Haverford (31-4) struggled offensively, accumulating season-lows in both kills (34) and hitting percentage (.079). The Eagles did not fare much better, hitting just .183 as a team. The difference in the game proved to be on the defensive end. Eastern (32-4) held a 79-65 advantage in digs and had two more blocks (7-5) than the Fords.
Kelsey Cantwell registered a double-double with 12 kills and 12 assists. Rebecca Salvo joined Cantwell with 10 kills and a team-high 16 digs. Kate Comey had 30 assists for the second straight match and Franny Glick tallied 15 digs.
Courtney Reinhold led all players with 15 kills and added 16 digs for Eastern. The Eagles had three other players with double-digit digs. Maria Horning and Nikki Kummerer had 17 each while Christi Schlager added 12. Horning also handed out 31 assists.
The Fords held an 18-16 lead in the first set, but Eastern reeled off six-straight points. The teams exchanged the next two points, but the Eagles closed out the set with the final three.
In the third set, Haverford led 13-10 then took five of the next six points thanks to three kills from Salvo to go up 18-11. After calling a timeout Eastern responded by taking the next five points. The final eight points of the third saw three tied scores and four lead changes. A kill by Cantwell and an Eagles error put HC two points away from taking the set, but Reinhold connected on two kills for a 24-23 advantage. Horning and Heather Kauffman combined for a block assist on match point.
Haverford put together one of the finest seasons in program history. In addition to winning their fourth-straight Centennial Conference championship the Fords tied the school record for most wins (31) in a season and posted the second-highest winning percentage ever.