ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (3-7) was upended in four sets by host Elizabethtown (5-5) on Thursday evening inside the Thompson Gymnasium. Haverford fell behind two sets to none, before rallying to take the third set and force a fourth. Elizabethtown responded, taking a 25-14 win in the closeout set to seal a home victory. The set scores for the match were 25-16, 25-21, 15-25, 25-14.
Elizabethtown sprinted out on a big run to begin the match, taking a 10-1 lead behind strong play from Karlee Ray, who delivered a pair of kills in that opening stretch, while Georgianna Kahley had a strong turn from the service line. The lead for the Blue Jays grew to 14-4, but Haverford battled back to within four points at 17-13, as Kira Chaney and Eliana Brown helped key a comeback stretch that forced a timeout from the Blue Jays.
Elizabethtown had an answer, however, as Katie Scaggs punched down back-to-back kills to prompt a Haverford timeout with the hosts back in command at 22-14. The Fords struggled to find an answer for the Blue Jays down the stretch, as Elizabethtown came away with a 25-16 set victory, after tallying 14 kills against just two errors in the frame.
The second set started as a back-and-forth battle between the sides, as there was little separation in the early goings. Elizabethtown began to pull away, however, stretching a 7-6 advantage into a 12-6 advantage behind a strong turn from Lucy Stern at the service line. Haverford called for a timeout, facing an 18-9 deficit.
The timeout sparked the Fords, as Jordan connected on back-to-back kills ahead of strikes from Brown and Izabela Potocnjak, and suddenly Haverford was back within four at 18-14. A block from Gia Frank and Potocnjak put the Fords within just three, but a 3-0 Elizabethtown run gave the hosts some breathing room at 23-17. The Fords battled back to trim the lead down to three yet again at 23-20, but Savannah Lesley ended the set at 25-21 with a kill to put the Fords in a 2-0 hole.
Haverford grabbed the third set behind a .317 hitting percentage, its best of the night. The Fords tallied 17 kills in the stanza against just four errors and registered a match-best 66 percent sideout percentage. The score was deadlocked at 7-7 early on, but the Fords turned that early stalemate into a 17-10 advantage as strong serving from Kayla Chu and a key block from Taylor Jones helped turn the tide. Haverford went ahead 19-12, prompting an Elizabethtown timeout, and cruised from there as Chaney and Jordan helped set the tone offensively before Jones ended the frame with a block at 25-15.
In the fourth set, Haverford fell behind early. Elizabethtown looked much more like the team from the first two sets, jetting out to a big early advantage. Haverford called timeout down 6-1, but couldn't stop the hosts, who eventually grew that lead to 14-5. The Fords did rally to make things interesting, pulling back a 3-0 run highlighted by a key Chaney service ace. The Blue Jays were able to keep the lead in double digits, however, with Kambrie Hepler ending the match with a service ace at 25-14.
Claire Jordan and Kira Chaney each had 12 kills on the night, a match-high, while Kayla Chu (26 assists) and Dasha Igonin (17 assists) helped pace the passing effort. Juliet Young tallied a match-best 27 digs while Chu (16) and Igonin (11) also tallied in double digits. Potocnjak added a match-best four total blocks, while Jones and Frank connected on three.
The Fords now return to action on Saturday, heading to Eastern for a Tri-Match with the host Eagles and Penn State Berks. Action in St. Davids, Pa. will begin at 10 a.m. as non-conference action continues.