HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team was defeated twice on Saturday afternoon at the Gooding '84 Arena. Haverford (6-13, 1-4 CC) dropped the Centennial Conference contest with Gettysburg by set scores of 25-11, 25-20, and 25-19 before falling in the late afternoon match with Kean by set scores of 25-25-21 25-19, and 27-25.
Gettysburg 3, Haverford 0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19)
After a Wednesday triumph over visiting Ursinus, the Fords struggled to carry the momentum into a match with a tough challenger in Gettysburg. Dina Kosyagin and Julia Gallagher-Teske delivered back-to-back kills for the Fords to tie the first set at 9-9. The Bullets hit. 286 in the opening stanza and opened up on an 18-10 run that they would eventually stretch to a 25-11 win.
In the second, the Fords tied the contest at 7-7 with a Riley Outen kill and were within one at 15-14 as Outen again delivered. Gettysburg went on a run to take a 20-15 lead, prompting a Fords timeout. Haverford remained poised, using a successful serving turn from Elena Filograna to pull to with two at 20-18. Ultimately, Gettysburg had too much firepower in the latter moments, taking a 25-20 set victory behind .297 hitting in the frame.
The third set saw Gettysburg hit at a match-best .364 clip, but also featured the most offensive-minded showing for Haverford, as the Fords committed just one error in the frame. Gettysburg sprinted out to a 9-4 lead before a block from Gallagher-Teske and Pisch pulled Haverford within three. The Fords pulled back to within two as late as 15-13, but the Bullets stretched the lead to six at 23-17 en route to a 25-19 victory that sealed the match.
First year hitters Kosyagin (7 kills on 14 total swings) and Outen (7 kills on 15 total swings) each paved the way for Haverford offensively while first year setter Sara Hunsberger was impressive again with 23 assists and eight digs while also notching a pair of service aces. Filograna delivered two service aces while Sara Matsumura had a team-best 15 digs in the match.
Three Bullets tallied double-digit kills with Allie Stranick leading the way with 12. Sarah Ellis registered 19 assists while Caroline Sequeira added 21 digs.
Kean 3, Haverford 0 (25-21, 25-19, 27-25)
Haverford welcomed in Kean to Gooding Arena for the first time since the 2014 season, and were met with a tough challenge from the NJAC side. Haverford started the first set strong, taking an 11-14 lead before the Cougars answered back to tie the score at 14-14.
Caroline Baldwin gave Haverford a 15-14 lead with a kill, and the two teams couldn't find much separation from that point until the very final moments of the set as the visitors turned a 20-20 tie into a 24-20 lead with a late run behind Brett Harper at the service line. Kosyagin was able to give Haverford serve with a kill, but a service error ended the stanza in favor of the visitors at 25-21.
In the second, Kean hit a match-best .371 to jet out to a 19-10 lead. Haverford cut the lead to seven at 19-12, but Kean had a strong attacking showing as Jesse Larkin and Cailyn Ross teamed up to pace the offense for a 25-19 set victory.
The third went extra points as Haverford jumped out to a 6-3 lead that represented the last time either side would have a three point lead in the set. The seesaw battle saw the Fords with set point up 24-23 before the Cougars fended off the prospect of a fourth set with Ross allowing Kean to side-out at 26-25 before also finishing off the match with a kill for a 27-25 triumph.
Kosyagin added a career-best 12 kills and five digs to go with two blocks to lead the Fords in the match while Hunsberger notched 29 assists and a pair of service aces. Filograna tallied a career-best 24 digs. Junior Christine Anderson came off the bench to deliver a career-best eight digs. Jesse Larkin (14 kills) and Harper (12 kills) paced the way for the Cougars offensively while libero Kortnee Nelson matched Filograna with 24 digs.
Haverford returns to action on Wednesday as Centennial Conference play resumes with a midweek trip to Maryland's Eastern Shore to face Washington College. The match is slated to get underway at 7 p.m.