HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team (18-9, 7-2 CC) clinched a Centennial Conference playoff berth with a 3-2 victory (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-9) over the Washington College Shorewomen (16-10, 4-5 CC) at the Gooding '84 Arena on Wednesday night.
Junior Valentine Courouble set new career highs with 25 kills, 15 digs and a .417 attack percentage. Seniors Keri Godbe (20 kills, 19 digs), Nina Mutty (17 digs and 13 kills) and sophomore Zoe Wong (39 assists and 14 digs) also had double-doubles in the match. Wong's 39 assists were a career high while her 14 digs matched a personal best.
The home team started off quickly with 15 of the first 20 points in the first stanza. Washington College didn't go away, answering with a run to cut its deficit to three at 20-17. After a service error, the Fords tallied the final four points to win, 25-18.
Trailing 8-5 in the second set, the Shorewomen rattled off seven consecutive tallies to take a 12-8 lead, but the Fords pushed ahead with five straight to tie the set at 13-all. The two conference rivals couldn't pull away from each other until Washington College took a two-point advantage, leading to a Haverford timeout (23-21). The Shorewomen continued on as they took the next two points and won, 25-21.
Washington College got out in front to begin the third set with a 10-4 lead. The Fords rallied with a 14-1 sprint to take a commanding 18-11 advantage. The Shorewomen got within five at 20-15, but the Fords kept them at bay to take the set, 25-18.
The fourth set was a thriller as Washington College extended the match with a 27-25 victory. No team had a lead larger than three points. Back-to-back-to-back kills by Courouble put head coach Michele Benoit's team in the lead, 21-20. The road team fought back with three points to set the score at 23-21. A block by Courouble and sophomore Kaylynn Mayo gave the Fords a chance to end the match (24-23), but Washington College registered four of the last five points (27-25) to send the conference bout to a fifth set.
Haverford left no doubt in the deciding set, jumping in front with 10 of the first 14 points. The Shorewomen fought off two match points, but a kill by Couroube supplemented the victory for the Fords. Haverford had a stellar .478 attack percentage in the set with 12 kills and just one error in 23 attempts.
Five different Fords had at least 10 digs in the contest led by senior Jeanna Kenney (24). Mayo had a match-high with two solo blocks and three block assists. Haverford also had nine service aces highlighted by Godbe tying her personal high (four). Kristin Lee led the Shorewomen with 16 kills in the loss.
Tonight's win put the Fords in the conference playoffs for the second straight year and the fourth time in head coach Michele Benoit's five seasons at the helm. The Fords currently stand in third place in the Centennial Conference behind Swarthmore (8-1) and Johns Hopkins (6-1). Haverford will wrap up the regular season at home against Swarthmore on Saturday (1 p.m.). Before the match, the team will honor seniors Meg O'Day, Sara Rennert, Olivia Walsh, Godbe, Mutty and Kenney. The senior class has won 82 matches, went to the NCAA Tournament last season and has earned three conference playoff berths.