HAVERFORD, Pa. – On the first day of autumn, the Haverford College volleyball team registered a split at the Gooding '84 Arena. The Fords dropped the Centennial Conference match to Franklin & Marshall in four sets (25-9, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14) before rebounding for a sweep in the late afternoon match with Alvernia (25-21, 25-12, 25-20). Junior Julia Gallagher-Teske had a standout day with 18 kills and eight blocks on the afternoon. Haverford is now 5-10 (0-2 CC) following the day of action inside Gooding' 84 Arena.
Franklin & Marshall 3, Haverford 1 (25-9, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14)
Franklin & Marshall came out of the gates strong, taking the first two sets behind strong hitting. The Diplomats and Fords were tied early in the first at 5-5, but the visitors pulled away for a 25-9 victory. In the second set, the Diplomats roared out to a 10-5 stretch to begin action, with the Fords calling for timeout. A 3-0 Haverford run with Sara Hunsberger at the service line cut the Diplomats advantage to just six points, but F&M extended the lead to six at 24-18 before a Barbara Kapustin kill ended things at 25-18 in favor of the visitors.
In the third, Haverford came out with a completely renewed energy, taking a 12-7 lead before a Diplomats timeout. Haverford was firing on all cylinders as a Claire Nicholas kill gave the Fords a 16-9 advantage. Kendall Robison delivered a service ace for a five point lead at 17-12, but Franklin & Marshall battled back, trimming the Haverford advantage to just three at 17-14, prompting a Fords' timeout. The Diplomats tied the score at 20-20, and eventually took a brief 23-21 lead. The Fords battled back to tie things at 23-23 and came back from set point with a kill from Dina Kosyagin that leveled the score at 24-24. A Diplomats attack error handed Haverford set point and the Fords forced another Franklin & Marshall error to take the set in extra points at 26-24.
In the fourth set, Haverford fought to tie the score at 9-9, but a 9-1 run gave Franklin & Marshall a commanding lead. The Fords got back to within seven at 19-12, but a solid service run from Delaney Hahn and good play up front from Grace Polisano and Allison Franke handed the visitors the match.
Gallagher-Teske had nine kills, four blocks, and two service aces to pace the Fords in the match. Hunsberger notched 25 assists while Sara Matsumura had 22 digs to lead the defensive effort. Riley Outen was a standout with six kills and three blocks. Three Diplomats registered double-digit kills with Franke adding a match-high 15. Grace Maggiore contributed 40 assists and had 18 digs.
Haverford 3, Alvernia 0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-20)
In the late afternoon match, the Fords came out with a rejuvenated attack against the Golden Wolves to improve to 9-0 all-time against Alvernia. The Fords hit .289 in the first stanza, but had a bit of trouble shaking the visitors in the early goings. Haverford took a 15-12 lead with a Natalie Pisch kill and Gallagher-Teske joined Outen in finding kills to prompt an Alvernia timeout with Haverford leading 18-13. Alvernia found itself down just four at 20-16, and pulled to within one at 22-21, capping a 5-0 run with a kill from Paige Stern.
The Fords finished it off from there at Hunsberger found the floor with a kill and oversaw a pair of Alvernia attack errors from the service line as the Fords took a 25-21 win. The second set was a chance for the Fords to flex their muscle a bit, as the hosts opened up on an 11-5 run. A 7-0 run midway through the set gave the Fords a 21-9 advantage as a Robison service aced served as an emphatic prelude to a Nicholas kill. Gallagher-Teske gave Haverford a 2-0 lead in the match with a kill to seal a 25-12 set victory.
In the third set, the Fords mixed in a larger crop of players as Madison Adore, Caroline Baldwin, Christine Anderson and Sydney Miller all saw their first action of the afternoon. Alvernia called for timeout with Haverford up 10-5, and the Fords stretched their lead to 10 at 18-8 with a Gallagher-Teske kill. A 9-1 run for the Golden Wolves made the latter stages of the match more interesting than Haverford would have liked, as the Fords led by only three at 22-19. A strong attack with noteable contributions from Kosyagin and Pisch down the stretch helped the Fords put the finishing touches on a sweep at 25-20.
Gallagher-Teske and Nicholas each had nine kills while Hunsberger added 27 assists. Matsumura served as the libero and added 14 digs. The blocking effort remained strong with Gallagher-Teske adding to her conference lead in the category with four more stoppages on the match. Outen and Hunsberger each added a pair of rejections. Olivia Frutiger added 11 kills to pace the Golden Wolves while Courtney Blimline grabbed 24 assists and Gabrielle DeLucca compiled 16 digs.
With Centennial Conference action now in full swing, the Fords will head out on the road for a tough test in Baltimore against No. 14 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, September 29. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at Goldfarb Gymnasium.