SALISBURY, Md.–On Friday, the Swarthmore College volleyball team opened its season with a pair of matches at the Seagull Classic hosted by Salisbury University. The Garnet swept Geneva (Pa.), 3-0, in their opening contest before dropping a 3-0 decision to the hosts in the nightcap.

Junior Sarah Girard recorded her 1,000th career dig in the process, joining an elite club of Garnet Volleyball players who have reached that milestone.

Swarthmore started out sharp against the Geneva Golden Tornadoes, registering a .300 hitting percentage and limiting their opponents to a -.115 mark in the opening frame en route to a 25-12 rout. The Garnet broke open the set with a 7-0 run at 10-7 to put the Tornadoes out of reach.

In the second set, Sarah Wallace recorded four of her match-high 12 kills in the set and Guin Mesh led the team with seven digs. Wallace saved her best for last as she had six kills and no errors in eight attempts in the final frame. Swarthmore jumped out to a 14-2 lead with Mesh serving and led by as many as 14 points in the set. Olivia Leventhal closed out the proceedings with a kill at 24-16 after a short run by Geneva.

Malia Scott and Alyssa Nathan shared the team lead in assists with 12 apiece while Sarah Girard recorded 10 digs. Wallace narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs and Isabelle Andrews put down three blocks for the Garnet.

The tables were turned in the second match of the day as Swarthmore fell 22-25, 19-25, 17-25 to the Seagulls. In the first set, the hosts built a seven-point lead at 21-14 and were poised to take an early 1-0 lead. Swarthmore closed the gap to three with a 4-0 run, including two kills from Bridget Scott. The Seagulls moved a point nearer, but another big Garnet run, capped by an ace from Nathan, evened the score. Salisbury used a timeout to refocus and ultimately won the set, 25-22.

A run by the Seagulls late in the second frame changed the momentum of the match as the hosts moved ahead 2-0 overall. In the final frame, a -.048 hitting mark doomed the Garnet as they were unable to find a response to the Salisbury attack.

Nathan dished out 15 assists and Girard led the way with 14 digs. Wallace reached double-digit kills with 10 on the match, followed closely by Emma Morgan-Bennett's seven.

Swarthmore wraps up competition at the Seagull Classic on Saturday, Sep. 2 with matches against Stevenson and Medaille at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.