BALTIMORE – The Swarthmore College volleyball team (19-9) fell in the Centennial Conference semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 7 against the Haverford Fords in a five-set showdown hosted at Johns Hopkins University. The Fords erased a two-set deficit as Swarthmore fell by a 25-16, 25-16, 18-25, 23-25, 16-18 score.

Sarah Wallace recorded a double-double with 18 kills and 23 digs as did Sam DuBois (37 assists, 15 digs) and Malia Scott (20 digs, 13 assists). Sarah Girard and Madison Heppe also finished in double figures for digs with 21 and 11, respectively, while Olivia Leventhal had a team-high 19 kills. Elise Cummings served three aces and Bridget Scott finished with nine kills and two block assists.

The first set remained close until 12-12 when Swarthmore went on an 8-1 run to create separation from Haverford. Girard notched eight digs in the set as the Garnet defense limited the Fords to a .065 hitting percentage on 10 kills and seven errors in 46 attempts.

Swarthmore never trailed in the second set and hit .310 to take a 2-0 lead over Haverford. Wallace and Leventhal combined for seven kills and no errors in the frame as Heppe and Cummings each recorded two service aces. The Garnet claimed the final six points of the set as Leventhal had two kills down the stretch.

Haverford jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third and never looked back. The fourth set was closely and contested and featured 13 ties and seven lead changes, but the Fords prevailed with accurate hitting in the closing points of the set. Wallace recorded 10 digs in the frame en route to her 14th double-double of the season.

Swarthmore fell behind 3-5 in the decisive fifth set, but claimed the next three points for a 6-5 advantage. The teams traded points and the lead until the Garnet earned match point at 14-13. Haverford came out of its timeout by extending the set and earning a match point of its own at 15-14. A solo block by Anastasia White-Torruellas gave the serve back to Swarthmore, but the Garnet could not capitalize and fell by a 16-18 score to conclude the match. The team now awaits a bid into the ECAC tournament.