Box Score SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College volleyball team extended its win streak to nine games with a straight set victory over Dickinson Saturday afternoon in the Tarble Pavilion during Centennial Conference competition. With the win, the Garnet matches its best start of 10-1 set in 2010 and has now gone 27 sets without a loss.
Swarthmore (10-1, 2-0 CC) showcased its attacking power on the afternoon with set victories of 25-3, 25-17, and 25-10 to close out Dickinson (1-11, 0-3 CC).
Leading the defense for the Garnet was junior Danielle Sullivan with 11 digs, while Kat Montemurro and Madison Heppe each added seven for Swarthmore. Brone Lobichusky and Chastity Hopkins each had one solo block. The duo, offensively, also combined for nine kills in the match.
Zahra Ahmed, a sophomore outside hitter, led the offense with 11 kills and two block assists. Ahmed showcased a .562 hitting percentage for the Garnet. Sullivan registered eight kills, while Allie Coleman added six kills and 25 assists. As a team, the Garnet combined for a .408 hitting percentage in the match. Five players had service aces, including two from Montemurro.
Montemurro opened the offense for the Garnet with two consecutive kills for a 2-0 lead. A kill from Red Devils' Sam Iazzetta put the visitors on the board, but Swarthmore went on a 12-0 run during Montemurro's service to take a commanding 15-1 lead in the first set. Dickinson gathered two straight points in the set to put the score at 15-3, before Madison Heppe's service would again result in a run for the Garnet; closing out the first set, 25-3. The Garnet had an astonishing .579 hitting percentage in the first set, while collecting just one error on 19 attempts.
The second set was a much closer matched round; the teams tied at two and eight points before Swarthmore slowly pulled away. Samantha DuBois began the charge with a service ace to put the Garnet ahead at 10-8 before Coleman collected a kill resulting in a Red Devils timeout. The Garnet closed out the second set off two Dickinson attacking errors.
Reflecting the first set, Swarthmore regained control in the final set on the afternoon. Danielle Sullivan anchored the defense with six kills in the third set, while Montemurro and Kate Amodei each added four. Ahmed led the offense with five of her 11 kills in the match coming in the final set.
Swarthmore returns to action on Wednesday, September 26th at Franklin & Marshall for 7:00 p.m. start time.
