GLASSBORO, N.J.–The Swarthmore College volleyball team (1-1) opened the 2016 season on Friday evening at the Rowan Labor Day Invitational with a win and a loss against nonconference competition. The Garnet fell 20-25, 16-25, 15-25 to the #21 Eastern Eagles before sweeping host Rowan by a 25-20, 25-15, 25-11 score.
In the first set against Eastern, Swarthmore led 5-2 before the Eagles scored four consecutive points and took the lead. The two sides traded points until Eastern used a five-point run at 15-13 to pull ahead by seven. Kills by juniors
Malia Scott and
Sarah Wallace and a service ace from sophomore
Guin Mesh made it 21-17, but the Garnet could not overcome the deficit and found themselves down a set heading into the second.
The Eagles claimed the first four points of the set, but their errors and two aces by
Sarah Girard brought Swarthmore within one at 7-6. The Garnet continued to battle and were able to knot the set at 11 with kills from
Alice Liu and an
Elise Cummings ace. Two more kills by Wallace kept things close at 14-13 before Eastern took eight of the next 10 points to put the set out of reach. Swarthmore struggled in the third with six kills to six errors as the Eagles closed out the match by a 25-15 score.
In the second match, Swarthmore rebounded with a .310 team hitting percentage while limiting the Rowan Profs to a .074 mark of their own. Wallace totaled 11 kills to only one error while
Bridget Scott swung eight at a .353 clip and
Olivia Leventhal added six.
Malia Scott and Cummings both hit double figures in assists with 17 and 10, respectively, and freshman
Rachel Vresilovic finished with four total blocks (two solo, two assisted). The Garnet recorded 11 aces, with three apiece from Wallace and
Malia Scott and two by Girard.
Rowan hung around in the first and led 19-18 until the Garnet ran off four points to claim the advantage. The hosts got a point to make it 22-20, but Swarthmore claimed three consecutive points to close the set. The Garnet controlled the second as it limited Rowan to a .067 team hitting percentage and cruised to an easy win in the third, where they won 10 of the last 11 points.
Action continues at the Labor Day Invitational on Saturday, Sep. 2 with matches against Emmanuel and Widener at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.
