SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Freshmen Meg O'Day and Keri Godbe combined for 37 kills but the Haverford College volleyball team could not overcome Swarthmore College and fell 3-1 to the host Garnet Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Centennial Conference regular season.
After Swarthmore (19-5, 8-2 CC) edged the Fords (20-9, 7-3 CC) in the opening two sets (25-20, 25-21), Haverford rallied to take set three (25-22). Shaking off an early 3-0 deficit, the Fords hung with the Garnet throughout the remainder of the set. A tie at 21-21 was the 13th and final deadlock on the scoreboard as Haverford went on to register four of the final five points of the set to claim the 25-22 victory. Nina Mutty, Emily Mills and Godbe all provided kills in the closing run.
The fourth set was again tightly contested as a kill by Godbe pushed the Fords out to a 5-4 advantage before Swarthmore tallied 6 of the next 10 points to go up 10-9. After the Garnet opened up a 21-16 lead, Haverford earned the next two points to close within three (21-18), but the Fords would get no closer as Swarthmore hung on for the 25-20 victory.
O'Day continued her scintillating play with a career-high 20 kills and no errors for a .541 hitting percentage. Ranked second in the conference in hitting, O'Day has now registered a .500 hitting percentage or above in five contests this season.
Godbe (17) tallied double figures in kills for the 17th time this year as Haverford hit .185 overall. Olivia Walsh added 38 assists.
Madison Fuelling (23), Godbe (18), Mutty (17), Sarah Brody (13) and Walsh (10) all reached double digits in digs as the Fords faced the challenge of slowing down a Garnet offense which entered the contest ranked first in the conference in kills and second in hitting percentage. Godbe, O'Day and Olivia Coburn-Flynn contributed two block assists apiece.
Kathryn Montemurro paced Swarthmore with 14 kills while Kate Amodei took match-high honors with 24 digs.
The victory gives the Garnet their first point in the Hood Trophy competition. Due to results from contests earlier in the day, the Fords lead 3-1 in the annual rivalry between the two schools.
Despite the loss, Haverford claims the fourth seed in the upcoming Centennial tournament. The Fords will host Gettysburg College Wednesday night at Gooding Arena.