SCRANTON, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team began the campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over a top regional opponent, the University of Scranton, on the opening night of competition at the Scranton Invitational.
The Garnet converted at a .333 clip in the deciding set with the Royals hitting just .130.
Kaylee Zhang led the victors with 18 kills and
Jordan Perry followed with a career-high 17.
Dani Pena amassed 48 assists to set a new career best. Swarthmore played stellar defense as a unit and totaled 118 digs, its highest tally since 2013.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet led 11-10 in the first set but Scranton went ahead with five straight points. Swarthmore battled back with a 7-3 stretch to even the score at 18.
Alexia Enache,
Trisha Razdan, and Zhang all registered a kill and the Garnet benefitted from four Royals errors. Both teams had an opportunity to take the frame but they played on. Swarthmore trailed 28-27 before rallying with two kills from Zhang and another by Enache to take a 30-28 win.
- Scranton got out to a 6-1 lead in set two and did not give up the advantage on the way to a 25-19 victory. The Royals swung at .289 in the stanza with the Garnet posting just a .186 attack percentage. In the third set, Swarthmore was down 11-9 before taking over with an 8-1 surge. Zhang and Enache each picked up a service ace with Enache and Radzan adding a kill during the run. The Garnet went on to claim the stanza, 25-20.
- Swarthmore dominated the early part of the fourth set, racing out to an 11-3 cushion. However, Scranton later erased a 16-9 deficit with a 13-2 surge and flipped the script. The Royals held on for a 25-22 win and forced a decisive fifth set.
- Scranton continued the momentum into the fifth frame, scoring the first two points. However, Zhang responded with a kill and the Royals committed three consecutive errors to give the Garnet a 4-2 advantage. Swarthmore had an 11-9 edge but Scranton came back with two kills and two service aces to go in front 13-11. However, the Garnet dug in again and rallied with a kill by Perry, an Enache service ace, and two Royals miscues to stun the host squad and win 15-13.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Zhang 18
Aces:
Madeline Mountcastle, Enache 2
Blocks:
Angelina Heminway, Razdan, Perry 3
Assists: Pena 48
Digs:
Sakura Shimozono 33
UP NEXT
The Garnet (1-0) continue their opening weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday against Smith College (11 a.m.) and SUNY New Paltz (1:30 p.m.).
