HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team came up short in its bid to qualify for the Centennial Conference final for the fifth time in program history as it fell 3-0 to host, and top seed, Franklin & Marshall College in the conference semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Having accounted for the Diplomats' lone conference loss of the season, the fourth-seeded Fords (21-10) looked primed to take it to F&M (18-13) once more with a ticket to the championship game on the line.
Shaking off an early 8-3 lead by the Diplomats in set one, Haverford battled back to forge a 9-9 tie on a service ace by freshman Meg O'Day. Every point was closely contested as the score would be deadlocked four more times before the Fords crept ahead to a 20-17 advantage. Franklin & Marshall responded with a spurt of its own as it closed out the set with eight of the last 11 points to claim a narrow 25-23 victory.
Undaunted by the Diplomats jumping out to another lead in set two (16-5), Haverford dug deep and tallied nine of the next 11 points to close within four, 18-14. Two service aces by freshman Keri Godbe and one by O'Day helped fuel the offense during the Fords' furious rally that put pressure on F&M. The Diplomats hung on however, and posted a 25-18 win.
Sensing the opportunity to play for the Centennial title on its home floor, Franklin & Marshall inched away from an early tie in set three (4-4) to clinch the match with a 25-16 victory.
O'Day and Godbe tied for team-high honors in kills with six to lead the Haverford offense. This marks just the first time in five contests that O'Day, the top-ranked hitter in the conference, was held to a single-digit kill total. Freshman Olivia Walsh tallied 20 of the Fords' 21 assists on the day.
Sophomore Madison Fuelling (14) and freshman Nina Mutty (13) each registered double digits in digs while O'Day added three block assists.
Senior Candice Tussing, the reigning conference player of the week, paced the F&M offense with 14 kills while sophomore Julie Harvey and senior Sydney Seydel each chipped in with 10. Sophomore Caroline Hubbard took match-high honors with 36 assists. Alyssa Sanchez's match-high 20 digs led the sound defensive effort for the Diplomats that kept O'Day and company in check. Also proving to be a weapon on offense, freshman Sanchez added six service aces.
Despite boasting four freshmen in the starting lineup, Haverford fell in three sets for just the third time this season.
The loss brings a close to the careers of seniors Olivia Coburn-Flynn, Emily Mills and Jordan Scolaro. Coburn-Flynn exits as the current career (228) and season (91 in 2010) record holder in block assists.
Franklin & Marshall moves on to Sunday's championship tilt where it will face the winner of the day's second semifinal between defending champion Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College.