HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (22-8, 7-3 CC) assured itself of hosting privileges in the first round of the Centennial Conference postseason with a 3-1 victory over rival Swarthmore (15-11, 6-4 CC). The Fords won the contest by set scores of 25-15, 14-25, 25-13, and 27-25. The Fords and Garnet will do battle again on Wednesday, November 6 at Gooding Arena. A start time is still to be announced.
Prior to the start of the match, Haverford honored its senior class of Christine Anderson, Sara Matsumura, Kendall Robison, and Julia Gallagher-Teske, along with student manager Derrick Kim. With a berth in the Centennial Conference Tournament assured for both squads, the game still took on a dramatic tone, with Hood Trophy rivalry points on the line, as well as major playoff seeding implications in play.
Dina Kosyagin had a career-high 20 kills to lead Haverford, while Madison Adore (12) and Kendall Otridge (11) each tallied double-digits in the category. Sydney Miller added 46 assists while Isabel Schwam had 27 digs to lead Haverford. Kendall Robison (13) and Elena Filograna (11) also notched double-digit dig totals. The blocking effort was paced by Kosyagin, who added five total blocks while Gallagher-Teske contributed four. Riley Outen also notched four blocks.
The Fords looked strong from first serve, hitting .424 in a fast-paced first set. After the two sides were knotted at 10-10, Robison helped key a 4-0 run from the service line. Kosyagin was vital in contributing kills in a strong stretch as Haverford opened up a 19-12 advantage following a Miller service ace. Swarthmore called for another timeout, with the set seemingly slipping from its grasp down 23-15 as Outen found the floor for a second consecutive kill. With Sara Hunsberger inserted into the contest as a serving specialist, a block from Miller and Outen gave Haverford set point before Hunsberger ended the stanza with an ace at 25-15.
The second went to Swarthmore as it was the Garnet who looked stronger in a more defensive-minded frame. The visitors took advantage of some Haverford errors to open up on a big run, pulling to a 19-7 lead as Sarah Carrasco oversaw things from the service line. The Fords showed some late life to pull within just nine, but Swarthmore evened the match score at 1-1 with a 25-14 victory.
In the third, the Fords got to work offensively behind some strong serving from Miller, Filograna, and Schwam, jetting out to an 11-5 advantage. The lead ballooned to 15-6 behind consecutive kills from Otridge, and Haverford again looked every bit as sharp as the first set, opening up a 19-9 advantage. Adore, Otridge, and Kosyagin were all key offensive contributors down the stretch, as Haverford notched the 25-13 win to take a two games to one lead.
The closeout set proved to be a seesaw battle as neither side gained much separation at any point. Haverford called timeout down 22-20, and Swarthmore looked primed to force a fifth set with three set points at 24-20. The Fords rallied to deny that fifth set, as Outen punched down a kill and Kosyagin teamed up with Gallagher-Teske for a block that lit up the Haverford sideline. After Kosyagin tallied her 19th kill of the day, three consecutive errors by Swarthmore tied the match at 25-25. Kosyagin again fired a kill to give the Fords set point before Gallagher-Teske and Kosyagin fittingly delivered a block to hand Haverford the win at 27-25.
Gallagher-Teske finished the regular season with 419 career blocks to her ledger, passsing Brianne Bray of McDaniel for sixth in the conference's all-time career history.
Haverford will now await the official announcement of times for the aforementioned first round contest with the Garnet, which will be determined during Monday's pre-championship conference calls. The Fords will host a Centennial Conference postseason contest for the first time since the 2014 season.