WESTMINSTER, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team wrapped up a non-conference weekend with a split today at the Buzz Ridl Gymnasium. The Fords lost to the Thomas More College Saints in their first match, 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-17), but rebounded with a 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-14, 21-25, 25-13) over the host Westminster Titans.
Against Thomas More, Haverford was led by senior Meg O'Day's 13 kills. Senior Jeanna Kenney helped out on the back line with 21 digs while sophomore Zoe Wong led the offense with 16 assists. Tied at eight, the Saints went on a 13-4 push to take control of the first set before winning, 25-15.
Down by four (14-10) in the second set, Thomas More rallied to tie the match at 16-all. After exchanging points, kills by senior Keri Godbe and junior Valentine Courouble put the Fords ahead, 19-17. The Saints tied the set twice before taking a 22-20 lead. Haverford had one more run, registering the next two tallies, but Thomas More scored the final three points to win, 25-22.
In third set, Thomas More jumped in front with eight of the first 11 points. The Fords countered to get within one (14-13), but the Saints answered with 10 of 12 to pull away and sweep the match.
After a brief stoppage, head coach Michele Benoit's team got right back on the court to battle Westminster (Pa.). The home team went ahead 7-5 to begin the match, but the Fords rallied with 10 of 11 points to take a 15-8 lead. The Titans got with four (19-15), but the visitors kept them at bay to take set one, 25-19.
A 10-4 spurt by the Fords set the score at 15-9 in set two. Westminster made one more push, cutting its deficit to four; however Haverford ended the set with eight of nine points to win 25-14. A closely contested third set saw Westminster extend the match by scoring the final four points.
The Fords, looking to finish the match, started quickly with 10 of the first 15 tallies in the fourth set. Another run by Haverford set the score at 18-10 and Westminster would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
Highlighted by a team .315 attack percentage, the Fords were paced by Godbe's 16 kills (.378 attack percentage) and Courouble's double-double (11 digs, 10 kills). Wong had another stellar performance with 21 assists while Kenney added 16 digs in the victory.
The volleyball team's record now stands at 14-8 this season while Thomas More improved to 17-3 and Westminster (Pa.) fell to 8-23. The Fords are third in the Centennial Conference behind Swarthmore (6-1) and Johns Hopkins (5-1). Haverford gets back into conference action with a match vs. Ursinus at the Gooding '84 Arena on Monday (7 p.m.).