ASTON, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball team finished the Neumann Knights Invitational with a pair of sweeps on Saturday afternoon, dispatching Catholic (29-27, 27-25, 25-23) and Widener (25-16, 25-20, 25-23) in straight sets inside Community Hall on the Neumann campus. First year Riley Outen collected 21 kills over the two matches while Haverford's blocking effort was again paced by Julia Gallagher-Teske, who recorded seven total blocks. The Fords are now 4-8 on the season, heading into Centennial Conference play early next week.
Haverford 3, Catholic 0 (29-27, 27-25, 25-23)
The first set against Catholic proved to be a seesaw battle as the Cardinals opened on an 11-7 run, prompting a Haverford timeout. The Fords rallied to tie the score at 20-20, taking a brief 21-20 lead, prompting a Catholic timeout. The Fords had set point at 24-22, but a pair of errors and a block allowed the Cardinals to retake a 25-24 lead. The two teams traded points until Sara Matsumura delivered a kill and then contributed a service ace to hand Haverford the first set at 29-27.
The second frame turned out to be more of the same, as the two teams were not able to gain meaningful separation in the early goings. Haverford pulled ahead by four at 17-13 following a Matsumura kill but soon saw that advantage turned back into a 23-20 Catholic lead. Undaunted, the Fords battled to tie the score at 24-24. Outen gave Haverford serve with a kill and Kendall Robison delivered set point with a service ace at 26-25. A Catholic attack error sealed the set for the Fords at 27-25.
In the third, a more conventional set played out with the Fords sprinting to a 16-9 lead. The Cardinals rallied back to tie the score at 21-21, but Haverford closed things out in regulation as Elena Filograna had a standout turn at the service line after Dina Kosyagin gave Haverford set point with a kill. Filograna notched a service ace and was at the line before Natalie Pisch closed out a victory with a kill.
Outen had 13 kills to pace Haverford's attackers on the match, as Pisch (11 kills) and Gallagher-Teske (10 kills) also tallied in double-digits. Sara Hunsberger added 45 assists while Isabel Schwam had 24 digs to lead four Fords in double-digits in the category.
Haverford 3, Widener 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-23)
Fresh off an early afternoon victory, the Fords offense came out firing on all cylinders against Widener. The Fords sprinted out to a 9-3 lead and stretched the advantage to 21-13 with relative ease. A Robison serving run delivered a pair of aces a the Fords clinched the set at 25-16.
In the second, Widener proved its mettle, keeping the proceedings tight for the majority of the match. Trailing by just two at 22-20, Filograna stepped back into duty with her first career kill followed by a Matsumura kill. Filograna poured in a service ace as the Fords took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 win.
Widener tried to evade the sweep with its strongest effort of the match. The Pride found themselves within one as late as 23-22. Following a Haverford timeout, a block from Caroline Baldwin and Matsumura put the Fords on the verge of victory before Matsumura closed it out with a kill, sealing the sweep and the 2-0 day for Haverford at 25-23.
Matsumura posted a double-double for the second straight contest with 10 kills to go with 11 digs. Hunsberger had 24 assists while Filograna had four service aces and Robison added three.
Filograna was awarded a spot on the Neumann Knights Invitational All-Tournament team after finishing the weekend with a strong showing from the libero position. She notched seven service aces on the weekend and 48 digs.
The Fords will now open Centennial Conference play on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Allentown, Pa. against Muhlenberg. The last time the Fords paid visit to Muhlenberg they walked away with a 3-1 victory in 2016.