HAVERFORD, Pa. - Looking to take sole possession of first place in the Centennial Conference, the Haverford College volleyball team came up short to visiting Johns Hopkins University, 3-1, at Gooding Arena Saturday afternoon. Later in the day, the Fords outlasted York (Pa.) College, 3-2, in non-conference action.
Facing a 19-12 deficit in set one, Haverford (15-6, 5-2 CC) dug deep and gradually trimmed the Blue Jays' advantage. Consecutive kills by Olivia Coburn-Flynn brought the Fords all the way back and tied the score at 21-21. Emily Mills and Nina Mutty registered the final points of the set as Haverford claimed a 25-23 victory.
After falling in sets two and three by slim margins (23-25, 22-25), the Fords refused to go quietly in set four. Trailing 10-7, Haverford battled back to take a 12-11 lead on a kill by Meg O'Day. The set remained a battle until the end but Johns Hopkins (21-3, 5-1) squeaked out the narrow victory (22-25) to close the match.
The Fords registered a .293 attack percentage overall in the contest including an impressive .333 in the opening set.O'Day (12), Mutty (10), Godbe (10) and Emily Mills (10) all tallied double figures in kills while Olivia Walsh contributed 34 assists. O'Day added a career-high four service aces.
Madison Fuelling led the defensive effort with 14 digs while Godbe and Walsh chipped in with 13 and 10, respectively.
Jasmine Warmington paced the Blue Jays with 18 kills and Amelia Thomas had a match-high 18 digs.
In the final match of the day, Haverford outlasted the Spartans (6-22) in a non-conference contest (25-18, 25-7, 25-27, 23-25, 15-10).
With the score at 10-9 in the deciding fifth set, the Fords scored five of the final six points of the contest to register their 15th win of the season.
O'Day once again led the way on offense with 15 kills while Mutty added 10. Walsh dished out 41 assists and Fuelling tallied a season-high five service aces.
Also active on defense, Fuelling took match-high honors with 21 digs. Mutty (20), Walsh (16) and Godbe (12) also reached double figures. Coburn-Flynn and Mills made their presence felt with three block assists apiece.
Alison Dorsey led York with 10 kills.
Mills, Coburn-Flynn and Jordan Scolaro were honored prior to the contest against the Spartans as part of Senior Day festivities.
Next up for Haverford is another non-conference contest as it welcomes Cabrini College for a 7 p.m. match-up on Wednesday night.