Centennial Volleyball Tournament Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team heads to Baltimore on Saturday for the Centennial Conference semifinals. A rematch with Swarthmore awaits the Fords after the team dispatched the second-seeded Garnet in a five-set thriller to claim the bye into the semifinal round of the tournament, hosted by Johns Hopkins.
Haverford (17-11, 7-3 CC) takes on Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore (22-4, 8-2 CC) in the No. 2 vs. No 3 seed matchup on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Goldfarb Gymnasium on the campus of Johns Hopkins (17-8, 10-0 CC). In the first of two semifinals at 1:00 p.m., The Blue Jays will take on the No. 4 seeded Muhlenberg Mules (20-10, 7-3), who easily dispatched No. 5 seeded Franklin and Marshall in a first-round game on Wednesday night in Allentown, Pa. The Centennial Conference Championship between the semifinal winners is slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Haverford comes into the semifinals riding a wave of momentum that has led to five straight victories and six straight conference wins. After dropping six of seven and five straight to end a sluggish September, the Fords have posted a frenetic 11-3 mark, including an unblemished conference slate in October. A four-set win over Washington College clinched a playoff spot and a dynamic performance against Swarthmore in five sets helped the squad to a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
The Fords have relied on standout senior Valentine Courouble for much of the offensive resurgence in the last month, as the outside hitter returned from injury to the tune of a conference-best 3.90 kills per set, taking over the reigns and allowing the offense to get into its expected rhythm. The kills per set mark is good for 39th in the nation, with Larysa Iwaskiw of Ramapo pacing Division III with 5.88 kills per frame. Courouble, who posted 29 kills against Swarthmore in the regular season finale, will again be called upon to solve the Garnet in the semifinals, facing the squad for the second consecutive Saturday.
Zoe Wong has been a force from the setter position this season, leading all comers in the Centennial with 916 assists, good for a 9.25 assists per set average. The Fords have also consistently been the best blocking team in the Centennial as Julia Gallagher-Teske (93) and Kaylynn Mayo (59) are amongst the conference top ten in total blocks. As a team, Haverford is averaging 1.78 blocks per set, easily outpacing the 1.69 total from Muhlenberg. Since shifting to the libero position, Maddie Becker has been amongst the conference leaders in digs with 4.62 per set.
Swarthmore is again paced by Sarah Wallace, who has 279 kills so far this season. Mehra de Braven (3.08 k/s) and Olivia Leventhal (1.94 k/s) have been offensive stalwarts. Sarah Girard (373), Wallace (267), Elise Cummings (230), de Braven (221) and Malia Scott (215) each have over 200 digs for the Garnet. Swarthmore leads the conference in service aces per set (2.53).
Haverford is 34-20 overall against Swarthmore, including an 8-6 mark on a neutral court. Last season, Haverford took down the Garnet in the Centennial semifinals in Baltimore. Overall, the Fords have won their last five matchups against Swarthmore and a 3-1 all-time in postseason competition with their Tri-Co rivals. Swarthmore took a 3-2 victory in the 2010 Centennial semis at Gooding Arena.
Johns Hopkins has been aided to an undefeated conference season thanks in part to a .235 hitting percentage, tops in the Centennial. Elizabeth Wuerstle (3.39 k/s) and Erica Johnston (2.84 k/s) have led the offense for the Blue Jays. Sarah Elnozahy (537 assists) and Kristi Rhead (345) have excelled from the setter position while Ester Hong (318 digs) is the libero.
Muhlenberg has been led offensively by Kelly Tornetta (318 kills) while Shannon Hubert is second in the Centennial with a .299 hitting percentage. Elizabeth Garrison has posted the most digs with 524. Muhlenberg is first in the Centennial in overall service aces (222) and assists (1173) while the Mules are second in total blocks (178) after the Fords.
The Fords have been to the Centennial Conference playoffs in 16 of the last 17 seasons with four conference championships (2006-09). The Fords have made four NCAA Tournament appearances including the first time as an at-large team in 2014.
For the latest of the Centennial Conference tournament, including live stat and video links for all the action in Charm City, fans are encouraged to visit the Championship Central link at the top of this release.