SWARTHMORE, Pa.–In a battle of Centennial Conference unbeatens, the Swarthmore College volleyball team (11-2, 3-1 CC) had its 11-match win streak snapped with a tough five-set defeat at the hands of the visiting Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (9-3, 4-0 CC) on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Swarthmore fell by a 15-25, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 13-15 score for its first loss in nearly a month. The Garnet posted a season-best 10 blocks, with freshman
Rachel Vresilovic leading the way with six block assists and
Bridget Scott close behind with five.
Guin Mesh served three aces and
Sarah Wallace (12 kills, 10 digs),
Elise Cummings (15 assists, 19 digs) and
Malia Scott (16 assists, 12 digs) each posted doubles-doubles.
Mehra den Braven just missed out with 16 kills and nine digs as
Sarah Girard recorded 21 digs.
After conceding the first set, the Garnet recovered with a .279 attack percentage behind 15 kills and three errors in the second. A six-point run with Wallace serving opened up a lead for Swarthmore, which Hopkins eventually trimmed to two points. At 15-13,
Olivia Leventhal swung two consecutive kills to force a timeout and the Garnet later used a four-point run to put the set out of reach.
Swarthmore held the Jays to a -.061 mark in the third frame and posted four blocks, with two assists each from Leventhal, Vresilovic,
Bridget Scott and
Isabelle Andrews. The team led by as many as eight points in the set and never trailed. At 22-14, Hopkins used a five-point run to close the gap a bit, but two den Braven kills and an ace by
Amanda Reed put Swat ahead, 2-1.
Hopkins pushed the match to a decisive fifth set despite six service errors in the fourth. In the final frame, Johns Hopkins established control early by taking four of the first five points. A kill from Leventhal and a big block by Wallace and Vresilovic, however, helped shift the momentum.
Wallace answered two kills by the visitors with two consecutive kills of her own and the teams eventually found themselves tied at eight apiece. The Blue Jays went ahead several times, but could not create separation form the tenacious Garnet, who erased a 13-11 deficit behind Wallace's superb hitting. Unfortunately for the home team, Hopkins left Tarble Pavilion with the win and kept its unblemished conference record.
Swarthmore travels to Washington College on Tuesday, Oct. 4 for a Centennial match at 7 p.m.
