SWARTHMORE, Pa.–The Swarthmore College volleyball team picked up two important victories in dramatic fashion on Saturday, Oct. 21 as it celebrated its senior class. The Garnet earned a 3-2 conference win over Gettysburg and edged out a 3-1 decision over regionally-ranked Scranton to conclude the day.

Prior to the match, the team honored its five seniors: Olivia Leventhal, Alice Liu, Bridget Scott, Malia Scott and Sarah Wallace, who each made their mark throughout the afternoon.

In the first match of the day, Swarthmore stopped the Bullets by a 21-25, 25-10, 25-15, 23-25 score. Leventhal swung 19 kills with a .395 attack percentage with Wallace close behind at 16. Sarah Girard led all players with 35 digs and Mehra den Braven recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs. Malia Scott paced the offense with 47 assists to go with 14 digs and two blocks.

The Garnet overcame a slow start in the first set with a strong beginning to the second. On Girard's serve, Swarthmore increased its lead from four all the way to 15 as the Bullets were unable to provide an answer. In that stretch, den Braven and Leventhal each hammered home four kills and Swarthmore hit .250 overall in the frame. Girard was everywhere on the court, posting nine digs and anchoring the defense, which held the Bullets to a -.107 mark.

The Garnet overwhelmed the Bullets in the third as den Braven and Leventhal continued their assault. The hosts built a double-digit lead at 20-10 and took advantage of Gettysburg miscues to close it down the stretch. The visitors used a new lineup in the fourth to their advantage as they slowed the Garnet attack and eked a 25-23 win to force a final set. The teams traded points early on, but Swarthmore's .444 hitting percentage was too much for the Bullets to overcome. With the win, Swarthmore improves to 6-2 against conference competition.

Heading into the final match of the day, the Scranton Royals sported a 32-2 record and were ranked eighth in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the most recent NCAA poll. The Garnet, however, defended their unblemished home record, improving to 11-0 on the year and snapping Scranton's 10-match win streak in the process.

Liu and Malia Scott threw a threw a block party with eight and five denials, respectively, while Emma Morgan-Bennett added four of her own. Guin Mesh kept the Royals off balance with five aces and den Braven and Wallace posted 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Once again, Girard led all players with 30 digs, including several highlight-reel plays in tight situations. Bridget Scott also hit efficiently with six kills and only one error in 18 attempts.

The Royals rode a .378 hitting mark to an early 1-0 lead, but Swarthmore stifled the visitors in the second. The Garnet won seven of the first nine points and never let the Royals within five. A combined block by Malia Scott and Morgan-Bennett gave the Garnet a set point chance and Wallace cleaned up to even the match at one.

Swarthmored added five more blocks in the third and executed down the stretch to take the lead. The set featured 11 ties and five lead changes with neither team willing to concede an inch. At 25 apiece, den Braven earned a sideout with a kill and a big block by Malia Scott and Liu clinched the set for Swarthmore.

The teams continued to battle in the fourth with Scranton coming all the way back from a 19-13 deficit to lead at 23-21. A service error returned the ball to the Garnet, but a Royal kill gave the visitors two chances to extend it to five. Den Braven and Bridget Scott had other ideas as they each buried a pair of kills in a 4-0 run that ended the match.

The volleyball team faces another regionally-ranked foe when it hosts Muhlenberg College on Wednesday, Oct. 25 in an all-important Centennial Conference showdown. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.