LANCASTER, Pa. – The Swarthmore College volleyball team (12-3, 2-0 CC) remained undefeated in Centennial Conference competition on Tuesday night with a 3-1 road win at Franklin & Marshall. Outside hitter
Sarah Wallace recorded an impressive double-double with 21 kills and a career-high 23 digs on the evening.
The Garnet outlasted the Diplomats by a 25-19, 24-26, 26-24, 25-23 score as they prolonged their win streak to 11 matches.
Setter
Sam DuBois achieved a double-double of her own with 39 assists and 18 digs as
Malia Scott narrowly missed out with 10 digs and eight assists. Freshman
Sarah Girard and senior
Madison Heppe also finished in double figures for digs with 32 and 16, respectively. Middle blocker
Alice Liu hit an efficient .455 as she totaled 11 kills and only one error in 22 attacks and
Bridget Scott led the team with three block assists.
Swarthmore trailed 15-17 late in the first set, but a nine-point streak shifted the frame in favor of the visitors. Franklin & Marshall saved two set points to bring the game to 24-19, but a kill from
Malia Scott gave the Garnet a 1-0 lead.
Although the second set featured only two ties and two lead changes, it was closely contested with both teams using runs to push the momentum in their favor. After falling behind early, Swarthmore took four consecutive points on three separate occasions and seemed poised to capture the set with an 18-11 advantage. The Diplomats, however, fought back and claimed the final four points of the second to even the match at a game apiece.
The Garnet limited their opponents to a .032 hitting percentage in the third set on 12 kills and 10 errors in 62 attempts. Girard played exceptional defense with 15 digs in the frame as DuBois tallied 10 of her 18 as well. Liu and
Olivia Leventhal combined for seven kills and no errors in the set with an aggregate hitting percentage of .368.
The decisive fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with 10 ties and five lead changes between the two teams. Franklin & Marshall threatened to extend the match to a fifth game as it led 23-22, but a timeout allowed Swarthmore to regroup and capitalize on three Diplomat errors to secure the match. Wallace notched seven kills and only one error in the set to go with four digs.
The Garnet continue on the road with a conference match at Johns Hopkins on Saturday, Oct. 3. Action begins at 1:00 p.m.
