HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team saw its regular season come to an end with a 3-1 (25-7, 23-25, 14-25, 25-27) loss to the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats on Saturday at the Gooding '84 Arena in the Centennial Conference semifinal.
Haverford scored nine of the first 10 points and never looked back in the dominating first set. The home team had 15 kills and only one error for a sparkling .452 attack percentage while the Diplomats had a -.143 attack percentage.
Franklin and Marshall jumped in front 13-9 during the second set, but Haverford recorded eight straight points to take a 17-13 advantage. The Diplomats responded with five of six points to take a 19-18 lead. Each team answered with 4-0 runs, making the score 23-22 F&M. The visitors ended with two of the final three points to tie the match at one set each.
The Diplomats found themselves ahead 10-5 in the third set, but the Fords tallied six of the next seven points which made the score even at 11. Franklin and Marshall held Haverford to just three points the rest of the way due in part to the Fords' 11 errors and a -.125 attack percentage.
The fourth set featured ten lead changes and nine ties. With the score squared at 21, F&M took a 23-21 lead, but Haverford quickly tied it at 23. The Fords faced match point at 25-24, but registered a point to match the Diplomats at 25. Kills by Cassie Garison and Ellie Ezekiel sent Franklin and Marshall to the conference final.
Junior Keri Godbe led the Fords with 16 kills and added in 16 digs, ending the year with eight straight double-doubles. Junior Meg O'Day had 15 kills and a team-high .333 attack percentage. O'Day's 433 kills this season is the fifth best in program history. Freshman Zoe Wong had a team-high 23 assists while junior Jeanna Kenney led the Fords with 22 digs. Ezekiel had 13 kills in the win for the Diplomats.
Seniors Sarah Brody and Madison Fuelling end their careers having made three Centennial Conference playoff berths. Fuelling had 1,175 career digs which ranks 13th on the all-time list while Brody was right behind her in 14th with 1,170 digs.
With the win, the No. 5 seeded Franklin and Marshall Diplomats will take on the No. 3 seeded Muhlenberg College Mules, who defeated the No. 2 Swarthmore College Garnet in the other conference semifinal, in the Centennial Conference final on Sunday at the Gooding '84 Arena beginning at 1:30 p.m.