HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team posted a pair of match sweeps on Saturday at the Gooding '84 Arena, taking down Wilkes and Penn State Berks in straight sets. Set scores for the Wilkes match were 25-13, 25-21 and 25-14 while the set scores against the Nittany Lions were 25-23, 25-22 and 25-20. Julia Gallagher-Teske posted a career-best 12 kills against the Colonels of Wilkes while Natalie Pisch had a match-high 16 against Penn State Berks. Haverford improves to 5-2 on the young season after the pair of three-set triumphs.
Haverford 3, Wilkes 0
The Fords came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, opening up on a 16-13 run and cruising to a 25-13 victory. Haverford hit .259 in the stanza while limiting the Colonels to a negative hitting percentage.
The second set was cleaner for the Colonels, as the visitors came out with a renewed focus to take an 11-7 lead. A 5-0 run restored the lead for the Fords, but Wilkes kept it close, trailing by just one as late as 21-20. Madison Adore delivered a solo block to give Haverford serve up 22-20. Wilkes regained serve after an attack error, but Gallagher-Teske tallied three straight kills for a 25-21 set victory.
The Fords opened a 19-9 advantage in the third set and pulled away behind a .394 hitting percentage that saw crisp attacking and passing. Defensively, the Fords held Wilkes to just a .029 hitting percentage in the set.
Overall in the match, the Fords outhit Wilkes .298 to .022 with Gallagher-Teske proving to be dominant with a .706 hitting percentage. Zoe Wong had 23 assists. Allison Hall made her collegiate debut, registering a dig.
Wilkes was paced by Jamey Mikovich, who logged six kills. Mikovich and Kayley Schinski teamed up for blocks often, with Michele Natale also getting in on the action for the defensive minded Colonels. Mikovich finished with four total blocks to pace all comers. Haverford improves to 5-0 all-time against Wilkes.
Haverford 3, Penn State Berks 0
In Haverford's second appearance of the tri-match, the Fords got off to a slow start, falling behind 8-2 to begin the action in the first set. Sara Matsumura oversaw a 7-0 run from the service line to regain the lead, but the Nittany Lions were able to keep things interesting, trailing by just one at 22-21. Haverford pulled away slightly, with Claire Nicholas finding the floor for a kill before Gallagher-Teske and Wong combined on a block to end the set at 25-23.
The second set was similar to the first with the teams tied as late as 21-21. The Fords took over from there, scoring four of the final five points to take a 25-22 win. Pisch delivered the winning kill as Haverford hit .275 but the Nittany Lions were largely able to match the effort with a .250 hitting percentage and nearly flawless offensive production, with just one error on 40 swings.
The Fords opened the third set on a 12-7 run and set the tone for the home stretch of the match with a tally from Pisch that made it 16-13. The momentous kill came after a hard fought rally and fired up the Haverford bench as the Fords were able to snag a point with solid defense, passing and hitting all coming together on the point. Adore poached an over pass from the Lions and gave the Fords a six point lead at 23-17, ahead of Nicholas converting match point for the Fords for a 25-20 victory.
Overall, Haverford outhit Penn State Berks .231 to .163. Nicholas had 16 kills while Gallagher-Teske added three total blocks. Wong had 36 assists while Sara Matsumura contributed 26 digs.
Penn State Berks was led by Kayla Nespoli who had 12 kills. Morgan Schwartz added 26 assists and Madison Wojciechowski had 22 digs. Haverford improves to 2-0 all-time against Penn State Berks.
The Fords will return to action with the final match of an eight-match homestand against Immaculata on Wednesday, September 13. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.