HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (14-3, 3-1 CC) continued its torrid start to the 2021 season with a 3-0 blanking of Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday night inside Gooding '84 Arena. The Fords used a blistering .516 hitting percentage in the second set to put away the Diplomats in that crucial stanza, eventually earning their first win over F&M since the 2015 campaign.
Kendall Otridge matched a career high with 17 kills while Dina Kosyagin added 16 of her own in just three sets. Sara Hunsberger tallied 39 assists, while Juliet Young had a game-best 22 digs.
Haverford began the contest locking horns with the Diplomats hitters as Justine Armory and Kosyagin traded big swings as the score was tied 9-9 in the early goings.The Fords gained some separation thanks in part to strong outside play from Otridge, and eventually turned that tie into a 16-12 advantage. The Diplomats had an immediate answer, cutting the Haverford lead to just one, but the Fords then unleashed a 4-0 run to prompt a timeout from the visitors.
Out of the break, Kosyagin and Taylor Jones each played a big role, with Kosyagin teaming up with Jadyn Elliott for a block before an attack error with Jones at the service line handed the first set to the Fords.
In the second, Haverford put a complete effort together, taking a 12-9 lead behind Kosyagin and Otridge trading kills and Hunsberger completing crisp passes. The lead hit 15-11 after Young found the floor with a kill of her own, and Abby Holland got involved in the offense to stretch the lead to 18-13. A 5-1 run for Haverford put the Fords up by a commanding lead of 23-15, before Taylor Jones and Kosyagin ended the set emphatically with kills.
The Diplomats looked perhaps their strongest in the third set of the night, taking an early 11-6 lead in the frame. The Fords stormed back to pull to within two at 12-10, but the Diplomats kept the offense humming and the blocking effort matched that intensity, with Lauren Arnold and Makenna Penuel teaming up to give the visitors a 15-11 advantage.
Otridge tallied three consecutive kills to tie the score at 15-15, and Haverford briefly went ahead at 17-16, but F&M again had an answer, pulling ahead late at 22-20. Ultimately, the visitors turned that to a 24-22 lead, prompting a Haverford timeout as the Fords were forced to fend off set point. Haverford was up to task as it did just that, with Otridge earning side out before a block from Taylor Jones and Holland tied the score. An attack error handed Haverford a set point of its own up 25-24, and a service ace from Young sent the Fords to the sweep at 26-24.
The victory was Haverford's first over the Diplomats since an October 9, 2015 win in Lancaster and the first inside Gooding Arena since the 2014 season.
The Fords now return to action to begin a stretch of five consecutive road matches, beginning with a Centennial Conference showdown with Dickinson on October 9 in Carlisle.