UNION, N.J. – The Haverford College volleyball team picked up two victories on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Kean Cougars, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-20) and the St. Lawrence Saints, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 27-25) on Saturday afternoon at the Hardwood Arena.
Against Kean, senior Keri Godbe led the Fords with a double-double (14 kills, 10 digs). The senior had just three errors in 34 attempts and a .324 attack percentage. Senior Meg O'Day posted another sterling attack percentage (.462) behind eight kills and two errors in 13 attempts. Senior Nina Mutty tied the team high with 10 digs in the win.
In the first set against the Cougars with the score tied at 11-all, the Fords went on an 8-2 run to take a 19-13 lead, never allowing the home team to get closer. The second set saw a similar script as Haverford scored nine of 10 points to set the score at 20-12 before cruising to a 2-0 set lead. The Fords had a 20-15 advantage in set three before the Cougars went on a 6-2 spurt to cut its deficit to one (22-21). Haverford responded, scoring the final three points to wrap up the sweep.
The Fords had three players register double figures in kills vs. St. Lawrence with O'Day (22), Godbe (15) and junior Valentine Courouble (11). O'Day fell just one kill shy of her career high and had her fourth straight game of at least a .400 attack percentage (.405). Courouble had one error in 11 total attacks (.588). Senior Olivia Walsh (22) and sophomore Zoe Wong (19) combined for 41 assists in the victory.
St. Lawrence scored five of the first six points and eight of the first 11 in the first stanza vs. Haverford. The Fords came roaring back, taking their first lead at 11-10. The two teams were evenly matched before Haverford ended the set, tallying seven of eight points to win, 25-19.
With the two teams nodded at 20 in the second set, the Saints recorded the next two points on a service error and kill by Lexi Brown. After a Haverford timeout, the two foes exchanged points before kills by Wong and O'Day tied the set. Brown secured another kill and then a service ace by Rachel Pineda guaranteed a fourth set, giving the Saints the win.
Haverford scored the first seven points of set three and didn't allow St. Lawrence to get any closer than a four-point deficit. The Saints went on a 5-1 sprint to open the fourth set and maintained a lead of at least three points throughout. St. Lawrence held a 24-18 advantage and was just one point away from sending the match to a fifth set before the Fords scored seven straight with Godbe serving. Two kills by Courouble, four attack errors and a service ace would put Haverford in front 25-24. An error by Haverford tied the match at 25, but Courouble's 11th kill and a service ace from senior Jeanna Kenney would give the Fords their third straight win.
Head coach Michele Benoit's team improved to 6-2 this season. The team will travel to Lancaster Bible on Wednesday (7:00 p.m.) before welcoming Centennial Conference rival, Dickinson and Messiah to the Calvin J. Gooding '84 Arena on Saturday.