HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (11-13, 6-4 CC) concluded its regular season on Saturday afternoon inside Gooding '84 Arena. Unfortunately, the Fords fell to their rivals from Swarthmore (15-9, 8-2 CC), in four sets. The Fords started strong with a 25-11 triumph in set one, but the Garnet responded with 25-20, 25-20, and 25-19 wins to secure a road victory.
The Fords now look ahead to the Centennial Conference tournament, which will kick off on Wednesday, November 8 with a rematch against this very same Swarthmore team. The action moves to Swarthmore's Tarble Pavilion for the first-round showdown between the fourth-seeded Garnet and the fifth-seeded Fords. The game time will be confirmed on Monday morning.
Haverford had several standout performances on Saturday, with Taylor Jones leading the charge by recording 17 kills, marking her fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills. Jones had an impressive .485 hitting percentage for the match and committed just one error on 33 swings to set the tone.
Kira Chaney contributed 13 kills and 11 digs, her third double-double effort of the season, while Gia Frank notched nine kills on an efficient 19 swings. Frank also tallied a match-best four blocks. Kayla Chu continued to impress with 49 assists, setting a new career-best for the second consecutive week. Juliet Young had 24 digs, her 12th match this season with 20 or more.
In the first set, the Fords came out firing, playing nearly flawless volleyball from the beginning, feeling energized by the home crowd. Haverford achieved a .393 hitting percentage in that frame, holding Swarthmore to just .036. Swarthmore called a timeout before scoring a point, as the Fords jumped out to an 8-0 advantage thanks to back-to-back service aces from Juliet Young. Following the timeout, the hosts maintained their momentum, securing a commanding 11-2 lead after a Chaney kill. Although Swarthmore regrouped to pull within six, Haverford never wavered, ultimately winning 25-11, including back-to-back kills from Jones down the stretch.
In the second frame, Swarthmore displayed resilience, turning an early 4-4 tie into a 10-4 advantage. Haverford responded by rallying back to within two at 10-8, but a 6-1 Swarthmore run widened the gap. Haverford called for a timeout and regrouped, mounting a comeback from a 21-13 deficit. A 5-0 run brought the Fords within three. Another quick surge by Haverford narrowed the gap to just two at 22-20. However, Kaylee Zhang and Trisha Razdan delivered a pair of quick kills for Swarthmore, securing set point, and a Zhang service ace concluded the frame with a 25-20 score.
The third set began with Haverford taking a 6-5 lead, but the Garnet quickly turned that into a 10-6 advantage. A kill from Izabela Potocnjak brought the Fords back within three at 13-10, but Swarthmore surged ahead to an 18-11 lead. Haverford remained competitive throughout the set, pulling within five late after a block from Potocnjak and Frank, along with a kill from Frank at 23-18. A Swarthmore error brought Haverford within four at 24-20, but the Garnet ultimately clinched the set at 25-20.
In the fourth stanza, Swarthmore picked up the pace, aiming to maintain control and prevent Haverford from staging a comeback. A 9-3 Garnet run out of the gates set the tone for the frame, giving Swarthmore a commanding 12-4 lead. Although the Fords trailed by seven at 21-14, they showed late determination with kills from Chaney and Jones down the stretch, trimming the deficit to just four at 23-19. A sharp 2-0 run by the visitors concluded the set at 25-20.
Kaylee Zhang was a standout for Swarthmore, as she notched a match-best 18 kills and hit .381 on the afternoon. Zhang notched 12 digs and four service aces in a well-rounded effort. Razdan (10 kills) was also a key contributor for the visitors while libero Ellie Streeper added 20 digs.
Haverford is set to make its 19th appearance in the conference playoffs over the past 23 seasons when it takes the court at Tarble Pavilion on Wednesday evening. Remarkably, this marks the fifth consecutive playoff berth where the Fords will square off against Swarthmore to kick off the postseason, dating back to 2015.