Posted: Nov 08, 2015
BALTIMORE – The Haverford College volleyball team's comeback fell just short as it lost to McDaniel, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-12, 25-12, 15-12), in the Centennial Conference Championship match at the Goldfarb Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the careers of Keri Godbe, Jeanna Kenney, Nina Mutty, Meg O'Day, Sara Rennert and Olivia Walsh have come to an end. The group won 84 matches, went to three Centennial Conference playoffs and went to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals last season.
Godbe will graduate third all-time in kills (1,567) and place inside the top ten in ten other offensive categories. Kenney finishes her time at Haverford fifth in serve percentage (.947), ninth in service attempts (995) and 10th in digs per set (3.45). Mutty is seventh among all volleyball players in service aces (165) and stamped her mark in the top ten in four other categories. O'Day is the team's all-time leader in attack percentage (.349), block assists (244), and ranks among the leaders in nine other marks. Walsh wraps up her time as a Ford, fourth in assists (2,722) and assists per set (6.16).
McDaniel scored five of the first six points and maintained its lead throughout the first stanza to win, 25-22. The Fords got within two (23-21) after a block by Walsh and O'Day, but the Green Terror had the final tallies to win.
Both teams matched each other, point for point until the Fords scored four straight to take a 12-8 lead in the second set. Haverford led for the remainder of the stanza. McDaniel closed its deficit to one on two occasions, but couldn't get any closer as Haverford tied the match at one. The Fords had a .433 attack percentage in the second set with 14 kills and just one error in 30 attempts.
Similar to the first set, McDaniel went on a 5-1 sprint to open the third stanza. Haverford stayed close, getting the score within two at 9-7, but McDaniel ended the set on a 16-5 rally to take a 2-1 lead in the match (25-12). In the fourth set, Haverford turned a 5-2 lead into a 16-8 advantage. The Fords kept the Green Terror at bay the rest of the way to send the match a fifth set.
Much like yesterday, the deciding stanza was a back and forth battle with six ties and three lead changes. Trailing by one, Haverford rattled off three consecutive points to take an 8-6 lead. After exchanging rallies, McDaniel ended the set on a 5-0 run to win the Centennial Conference Championship.
Godbe had a double-double to pace the Fords with 16 kills and 14 digs. Junior Valentine Courouble finished one dig shy of a double-double, adding 12 kills. O'Day had 12 kills in the loss. Tournament MVP, Kloe Martin, had a match-high 23 kills in the victory for the Green Terror.