HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team was outlasted by visiting DeSales in a five-set thriller at Gooding '84 Arena on Wednesday, falling 3-2 with set scores of 25-19, 15-25, 27-25, 16-25, 11-15. Natalie Pisch set a new career high with 17 kills in the match to lead the Fords and made it a double-double with a career-best 17 digs. Valentine Courouble added 17 kills. Setter Zoe Wong tallied a career-best 42 assists and nine kills in the match. After the non-conference loss, Haverford falls to 9-9 on the season while the Bulldogs of DeSales sit at 13-8.
The first set went to the Fords as Haverford pulled ahead at 10-9 with Kaylynn Mayo at the service line. The Fords stretched the advantage to 15-11 after a Gabby Savite` error. The Bulldogs rallied back to cut the lead to just 16-15 after a Taylor Antoniewicz kill but Haverford went on a 6-0 run to lead 22-15, as Hailey O'Mara was at the service line to oversee a pair of kills from Natalie Pisch while also chipping in a service ace.
DeSales had some late life, cutting the lead to 22-19 after a Haverford timeout at 22-18 attempted to end the run. The Fords scored the last three points of the set to win 25-19.
DeSales went up 6-0 with a run to open the second set and stretched the advantage to 11-4 after an Antoniewicz kill. Haverford picked up the next three to trail just 11-7 but DeSales controlled the tempo of the middle goings to go up 20-12. Haverford struggled to find rhythm in the set, hitting just .047, and fell 25-15.
Set three saw Haverford and DeSales locked in a showdown with the Fords taking a 17-14 lead after a Mayo kill. The lead quickly evaporated but a Pisch kill helped the Fords tie at 20-20. DeSales took a 23-20 lead after back-to-back errors from the Fords, forcing a timeout from the hosts. Haverford rallied to tie it at 23-23, with a pair of attack errors sandwiching a Pisch kill, forcing a DeSales timeout. DeSales went ahead 24-23, but Haverford was able to prevail in extra points, as a Mayo service ace gave Haverford the lead in the match 2-1 with a 27-25 set three victory in triumphant history.
DeSales got out to a 20-9 lead in the fourth set, scoring six consecutive points to put Haverford in a deep hole. The Fords scored five in a row to turn a 21-11 deficit into a 21-15 one, but DeSales scored four of the final five points of the set, with Lisa Wallitsch connecting with Savite and Antoniewicz to give DeSales a tie in the match at 2-2. DeSales hit .349 in the fourth set, committing just one attack error.
The fifth set was a tight affair, with DeSales going ahead for good at 5-4. Haverford would get to within one at 6-5 after a Pisch kill, but the lead was as large as four at 12-8 before the Fords called timeout to try and throw off the Bulldog momentum. A Natalie Grey service error made it 12-9 but DeSales went ahead 14-10 after a Maddie Becker service error, giving the visitors set point. The Bulldogs finished the contest with a solo block from Morghan Shoemaker for a 15-11 set victory and a 3-2 match win.
Haverford received 21 digs each from Sara Matsumura and Becker while O'Mara added 19. The Fords again had a great blocking day, extending the Centennial Conference team lead in the category with a career-best four from Julia Gallagher-Teske while Elena Garcia, Courouble and Pisch also got into the blocking action.
For DeSales, Wallitsch had 51 assists while Savite` led all players with a game-high 19 kills. Sievert posted 12 kills on just 25 swings.
The Fords will now take a few days off for the Haverford Fall Break before returning to Centennial Conference action at Muhlenberg on October 12. Match time is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Allentown, Pa.