ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team knocked the Muhlenberg Mules off the Centennial Conference perch of unbeaten teams with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night at Memorial Hall.
The visiting team took the first set 25-21 behind a balanced offensive attack as three Fords paced the offense with three kills each (Junior Meg O'Day, Junior Keri Godbe and sophomore Elena Garcia). With the score tied at six, Haverford scored four straight points to take a 10-6 advantage and then extended its lead to 17-11 before taking the set by the final score. Haverford held Muhlenberg to a -.081 attack percentage in the first set victory.
The second set featured several runs beginning with the Mules streaking to a 9-3 lead. Head coach Michele Benoit's squad responded with 14 of the next 19 points to make the score 17-14 Fords. The Mules answered with eight straight points to hop back in front, 22-17. The Fords cut their deficit to three (23-20), but the Mules scored the final two points of the set and won 25-20.
During a 25-16 set three win, Haverford went on 16-5 run to take a lead that it never gave up. The Fords had a .280 attack percentage and held the Mules to -.034 attack percentage in the set.
The Mules seemed poised to extend the match to a fifth set as they were up 18-14 in the fourth set. Haverford scored four straight points to tie the match at 18 which led to a Muhlenberg timeout. The final 10 points of the set featured four lead changes and three ties. The Fords tallied the final four points to win 25-21 and the match 3-1.
Godbe posted a double-double with 13 digs and a team-high 11 kills. Freshman Zoe Wong also had a double-double with a team-high 16 assists and 10 digs. Junior Olivia Walsh led the Fords with 18 assists while junior Jeanna Kenney added a team-high 15 digs in the win. Sophomore Kaylynn Mayo had a match-high two solo blocks while the Fords finished with eight blockd as a team. Allison Glass led the Mules with 11 kills in the loss.
Haverford is now 6-0 in the Centennial and 16-7 overall. The Fords are one of only two undefeated teams in conference play (Swarthmore). Those two teams meet at Swarthmore on Nov. 1 in the final match of the regular season. Muhlenberg falls to 20-3 and 6-1 in the CC. Haverford will return to the court on Saturday as it travels to Johns Hopkins. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m.