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Volleyball Picks Up Road Win at Dickinson, 3-1

CARLISLE, Pa. – In a crucial conference road match, the Haverford College volleyball team evened its Centennial Conference record at 4-4 with a four-set victory over the host Red Devils of Dickinson at the Kline Center. Set scores were 25-18, 25-17, 18-25, 25-18. Natalie Pisch had a game-high 16 kills to go with 11 digs while Sara Matsumura had 10 kills and 14 digs, as each tallied a double-double effort. Claire Nicholas narrowly missed a double-double, contributing nine kills with 10 digs. Zoe Wong contributed 38 assists and six kills on just nine total attacks. Haverford is now 15-9 overall on the season. Dickinson falls to 8-14 overall and 2-6 in conference games.

The first set saw the Fords get out to an early 13-6 lead, taking advantage of a shaky offensive start for the Red Devils.  A block from Pisch and Nicholas was a key part of the early goings, allowing the Fords to go up five at 11-6. The Fords pulled ahead to a 16-9 lead with a kill from Julia Gallagher-Teske, but Dickinson battled back to cut the lead to just three at 17-14 as Jamie Singer and Erin Bongo tallied back-to-back kills. Haverford stretched the lead to 21-14, with a Nicholas kill putting an exclamation point on the run. Wong delivered the kill that put the set away at 25-18. The Fords hit .320 in the first while holding Dickinson to a .071 hitting percentage, using a crisp offensive attack to get out to the early lead. 

The second set was more of the same, with Haverford jumping out to a 16-9 lead yet again, with Natalie Pisch giving the Fords the seven point advantage with a kill. Haverford pushed the lead to 20-12 after three straight attack errors from Dickinson, but the hosts battled back to trail by just five at 20-15. Nicholas added a kill for a 23-16 lead and the Fords took a 2-0 lead with yet another Wong kill to clinch the set at 25-18.

The Fords stumbled in the third set, as Dickinson came out with a strong effort to take a 12-7 lead with a block from Norma Jean Park and Kristin Allgaier. Haverford remained within striking distance late into the stanza, trailing by just two at 19-17 before Dickinson took six of the final seven points to cruise to a 25-18 victory.

The two squads were deadlocked in the fourth set as late as 13-13, but a Sydney Miller service ace made the score 15-13 in favor of the Fords, prompting a timeout from Dickinson. The Fords would force another Dickinson timeout as Matsumura registered a kill ahead of an attack error from Bongo, leading 18-15. Haverford began to pull away up 21-15, with Natalie Pisch completing a 5-0 run with a kill. The Fords took another 3-0 run to wrap up the set at 25-18, hitting .229 while keeping Dickinson to a .000 hitting percentage.

Pisch had a game-high with her 16-kill performance. The Fords had 10 total blocks, including three each from Nicholas and Madison Adore. Four Haverford players had double-digit totals in kills. Singer paced Dickinson with 10 kills. Tatiana Lopez had 22 digs while Allgaier added 24 assists on the night. Kylie Albertsen has a match-best five total blocks for Dickinson.

Haverford improves to 23-7 all-time in 30 meetings against Dickinson. The Fords are 15-1 in the last 16 outings against the Red Devils.

The Fords will now travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Carnegie Mellon Mini Invitational, an excursion from conference competition. The Fords face off with DeSales on Friday, October 20 (4 p.m.) before returning Saturday to face Denison (11 a.m.) and the host Tartans (3 p.m.). Haverford will then wrap up the conference season with a match at Bryn Mawr on Wednesday, October 24 and the Senior Day match at home against Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore on Saturday, October 28.