Volleyball Stretches Winning Streak to 10

Lindsey Keener
Lindsey Keener

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -  On the first night of action at the Buttermaker Tournament on the campus of Muhlenberg College, the Haverford College volleyball team (10-0) picked up a pair of sweeps, taking down Eastern (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) and Penn State Abington (25-11, 25-17, 25-10), stretching its winning streak to 10 consecutive matches to begin the season. The streak is the program's longest since the 2009 squad had two separate 10-match winning streaks en route to a 31-4 season and a Centennial Conference title. 

Senior middle blocker Julia Gallagher-Teske moved closer to the program's all-time blocks record with another solid effort on Friday, recording three blocks to pull to within just one of second place on Haverford's career all-time ranking. Gallagher-Teske ends the day with 336 career total blocks, just 17 away from the record set by Jeyln Meyer '04. 

Haverford 3, Eastern 0

In a meeting between two squads who also met in the first week of the season, Haverford again took a sweep over the Eagles. The offensive effort looked strong for the Fords in the first, as the team hit .310 in the stanza. Haverford sprinted out to a 10-5 lead, with Dina Kosyagin and Kendall Otridge each contributing back-to-back kills in the stretch. Eastern rallied to cut the lead to just one at 12-11 in favor of the Fords, but a 6-1 run for Haverford prompted an Eagles timeout with the Fords holding on to a 19-16 lead. Haverford later stretched the lead to six at 23-17, and Otridge promptly gave Haverford set point with a kill before finishing the set off with her fifth and final kill of the stretch.  

In the second, Haverford continued its strong offensive showing with an impressive .424 hitting percentage, committing just two errors on 33 swings in the frame. Haverford was again the first team to 15, taking a 15-10 advantage on a kill from Madison Adore. The lead stretched to six at 18-12 before Eastern called for timeout looking to regroup. Undaunted, Kosyagin promptly gave the Fords an eight point lead with a kill, and Haverford was able to cruise to a 25-16 victory behind a nearly flawless attack in the crucial moments of the set. 

The third saw Haverford again look poised in the early goings, taking a 6-1 advantage as Gallagher-Teske and Keener combined on a block while Sara Matsumura was at the service line. The lead eventually stretched to eight at 12-4, with the Fords knocking down four straight kills as Elena Filograna took her service turn. Eastern returned fire, cutting the lead to just three at 14-11, but errors allowed Haverford to pull to a seven point advantage with a 4-0 run. The final advantage was six as Kosyagin gave Haverford set point with a kill and Otridge handed the Fords a ninth consecutive match victory to begin the season. 

Kosyagin had a match-best 11 kills against just three errors while Otridge and Adore both contributed nine. Sydney Miller collected 37 assists while Matsumura (18) and Isabel Schwam (11) both tallied double-digit dig totals. Gallagher-Teske added a pair of blocks.

The Fords have now beaten Eastern twice in the same season for the first time since 2006. 

Haverford 3, PSU-Abington 0

In the nightcap, the Fords hit .323 in a convincing victory over Penn State Abington, including a .448 clip in the close-out third set.

Keener collected 14 kills on just 28 swings to pace the offensive effort for Haverford. Nine different Fords recorded multiple kills. Haverford was able to work their entire roster into the match, with Sara Hunsberger notching 18 assists and Sydney Miller adding 14. Matsumura (22) and Schwam (13) each had double-double dig totals.

Matsumura added five service aces and a career-best seven assists. 

Haverford improves to 2-1 all-time against the Nittany Lions, in a series that was revived for the first time in 33 years on Friday night. 

The Fords now return to action in Allentown with a pair of contests on Saturday, facing off with Mount St. Vincent (10 a.m.) and Stockton (12 p.m.) to wrap up action at the Buttermaker Invitational.