HAVERFORD, Pa. - In a thrilling Centennial Conference match on Wednesday night inside Gooding '84 Arena, the Haverford College volleyball team (9-12, 4-3 CC) delivered a remarkable reverse sweep over Ursinus (9-14, 1-7 CC) to highlight Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night.
The final score was 3-2 in favor of Haverford, with the Fords refusing to go down quietly, showcasing their resilience and determination throughout the contest. Set scores for the match were 17-25, 24-26, 25-15, 27-25, 15-13.
Kira Chaney and Taylor Jones were instrumental in the Haverford victory, with 21 and 16 kills, respectively, as Chaney achieved a new career high. Jones did not register an error in the contest until her final swing of the night, notching a .405 hitting percentage. Kayla Chu's 48 assists, also a new career-best, and Eliana Brown's 13 kills played a significant role in the team's ability to battle back late in the contest.
The Fords tallied 12 service aces and notched 74 digs and 10 total blocks. Juliet Young stuffed the stat sheet with 24 digs while Chaney added 14 to key a double-double effort. Chu also notched a double-double, adding 15 digs. Izabela Potocnjak added seven total blocks, a career best.
Ursinus, led by Caroline Sherman's whopping 27 kills and Rachel Bernard's 32 assists, displayed a strong presence on the Gooding Arena court. In total, three different Bears players recorded 10 or more kills. However, it was not enough to overcome Haverford's collective effort.
Ursinus dominated the first set with a scorching .480 hitting percentage, with just one error on 13 total swings as the visitors came out looking strong in a 25-17 win. The second set was more competitive, but the Bears pulled away late to go up 2-0 with a 26-24 decision.
Despite struggling to solve the Bears in the first two sets, Haverford turned things around with impressive offensive performances in the third and fourth sets to help wrestle control of the contest in the fifth frame.
The third saw Haverford put the pedal to the metal with a 13-kill, 1-error stanza. The Fords took a 9-8 lead on a Brown kill, and had a 4-0 spurt to go ahead 14-10 following kills from Gia Frank and Jones. Ursinus stuck around but couldn't get back into the contest as back-to-back blocks from Potocnjak, teaming up with Brown and Chu, respectively, opened up a six-point cushion at 18-12. Potocnjak and Chaney teamed up for an emphatic block at 22-14, with the set now out of reach for Ursinus, and a Young service ace served as a prelude to Chaney's kill off a pass from Jones to end the set for good at 25-15.
The fourth featured more dramatics, as the two sides tussled for position in the early goings. Eventually, the match was tied 20-20 following a kill from Brown, and Haverford went up 23-21 following points from Brown and Chaney in rapid succession. Ursinus rallied, forcing Haverford into a timeout down 24-23, with the Bears holding match point.
Haverford was able to side out thanks in part to a blocking error on the visitors, and Chaney then gave the Fords set point. Ursinus grabbed a huge side out to again tie the score, but Chaney again put Haverford up by one before a Ursinus error ended things at 27-25.
The fifth was again a battle, with Ursinus looking extremely poised in the early moments to take a 4-2 lead out of the gates. The Fords had to recover, and did so, grabbing some of the mid-set momentum with back-to-back service aces from Chu.
Frank and Jones teamed up for a block that gave Haverford an 11-10 lead, and Chaney did just enough to tie things with a kill at 12-12, finding the floor for a service ace immediately after to prompt Ursinus timeout. An Ursinus error gave Haverford match point, and Brown ended the match with a kill at 15-12.
The Fords improved to 37-8 all-time against Ursinus, as the Fords have not dropped a match to the Bears since 1998.
The Fords now continue the stretch run of Centennial Conference play into Saturday, heading to McDaniel for a 2 p.m. start against the Green Terror in Westminster, Maryland as the regular season concludes its penultimate week.