PITTSBURGH – The Haverford College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to DeSales on Friday afternoon, in the opening game of the Carnegie Mellon Mini Invitational at Skibo Gym in Pittsburgh. Sara Matsumura matched a game-high with 18 kills and contributed 12 digs. Natalie Pisch also posted a double-double with 11 kills and 21 digs. The Fords fall to 15-10 on the season while DeSales is now 18-7 on the season with the victory.
DeSales prevailed in the first set behind a .345 hitting percentage. The Fords took an early 5-2 lead behind a block from Claire Nicholas and Zoe Wong, but DeSales rallied back to take a 10-7 lead with a block from Grace Merritt and Taylor Antoniewicz, forcing a Haverford timeout. The DeSales lead stretched to six with a kill from Gabby Savite' at 17-11, but the Fords were able to rally back to cut the lead to just one at 22-21 with a Matsumura kill. DeSales finished the set on a 3-0 run to seal a 25-21 win.
The Fords hit .294 in the second stanza, starting on a 6-1 run that included two service aces from Sydney Miller. DeSales came back to tie the set at 12-12 with a 3-0 run, and briefly pulled ahead before Julia Gallagher-Teske and Matsumura connected on a block to tie the score at 15-15. The Fords trailed by one at 16-15 before taking a 23-18 lead with an offensive flurry as a Pisch kill forced a DeSales timeout. The Fords were able to cruise to a 25-20 win, using a Bulldogs error to tie the match at one set apiece.
Haverford sprinted out to a 19-8 lead in the third set, prompting a DeSales timeout. The Fords stretched the lead to 21-13, seemingly poised to take a 2-1 lead before the Bulldogs rallied back to cause a Fords timeout with DeSales down just two at 22-20. Merritt and Antoniewicz teamed up for a block to stave off Haverford from converting on set point, and the defensive momentum led to a 5-0 run that allowed DeSales to come back from the brink to steal the set for a 2-1 match lead, putting the Fords on the cusp of elimination in the match.
DeSales started the fourth set on an 11-5 run, and stretched the lead to 21-11, as Haverford struggled to keep pace defensively. A late 4-0 run that included two kills from Madison Adore and one each from Pisch and Matsumura allowed the Fords to cut the lead down to 24-18 after facing match point at 24-14, but Merritt converted a kill to seal the set and the match for DeSales.
Zoe Wong had 41 assists to increase her career total to 2,886, good for fourth in program history. Matsumura had three total blocks to lead the way for the Fords in the category. Savite' had 18 kills to match Matsumura's game-high for DeSales while Morghan Shoemaker added 16 kills. Julia Bradford had 51 assists while Natalie Gray posted 28 digs. Noel Kelly and Shoemaker each had four total blocks. DeSales hit .250 on the match while holding the Fords to .176 in the four-setter.
The Fords return to non-conference action tomorrow with a pair of matches at the Carnegie Mellon Mini Invitational. Haverford faces off with Denison (11 a.m.) before returning to take on tournament host No. 6 Carnegie Mellon at 3 p.m to wrap up the weekend slate.