Volleyball takes two on opening day at Cal Lutheran tourney

Posted: Oct 16, 2009

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The sun and surf of the West coast seem to agree with the Haverford College volleyball team as the Fords defeated Pomono-Pitzer, 3-1, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 3-2, on the opening day of the Cal Lutheran University Fall Classic.

The pair of non-conference victories extends the 22nd-ranked Fords' win streak to eight and improves their season mark to 21-2 marking the fourth straight year the team has surpassed the 20-win plateau.

Haverford picked up the opening set win against Pitzer, 25-19, but the Sagehens squared the match at one with a 25-23 victory in the second. Haverford sealed the deal with 25-11 and 25-12 wins in the third and fourth games of the Classic's opening match.

Rachel Salvo led the Fords' attack with 17 kills and a blistering .412 attack percentage. Rebecca Salvo added 12 kills while Kelsey Cantwell chipped in with 10. Kate Comey registered 42 assists to set up the attack.

Defensively against Pitzer, Cantwell picked up a team-leading 22 digs while Caitlyn Tranquillo added 18 and Rebecca Salvo had 17. The Fords also totaled seven team blocks in the win over the Sagehens.

Against CMS, the Fords spotted the Athenas the first set by a 25-19 count before pulling even with a 25-17 second set win. Claremont put the Fords against the wall winning the third, 25-23, but Haverford reeled off dominating 24-14 and 15-4 wins to pull out the come-from-behind victory.

Four players reached double-digits in digs for the Fords led by Rebecca Salvo's 19. Franny Glick, Cantwell and Comey each picked up 10 digs apiece. Haverford tallied nine team blocks led by Rachel Salvo's five block assists.

Cantwell was the spark plug on offense in the win over CMS with 22 kills and a .394 attack percentage. Rebecca Salvo provided more than just defensive leadership, adding 15 kills in the win. Comey set up the offense with 50 set assists.

For the day, Tranquillo totaled a team-high seven service aces for the Fords.

Haverford moves on to day two at the CLU Classic with a pair of Saturday matches against two more California teams. At 2:30 p.m. (PT) the Fords will battle La Verne followed by a 4:30 p.m. (PT) match against the hosts from Cal Lutheran.