SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College volleyball team erased a 2-0 deficit to stun visiting Ursinus College, 3-2, in Centennial Conference action on Tuesday night. It was the sixth consecutive win for the Garnet.
The Garnet fell behind with 25-22 and 25-19 losses in the opening two sets, hitting just .073 as a team to that point. However, Swarthmore started its rally by pulling out a 25-23 win in the third frame, then followed that with 25-14 and 15-12 triumphs to complete the comeback. The Garnet posted a .226 attack percentage over the final three sets, including .316 in the fourth stanza.
Isabel Adam and
Keira Miles led the way with 18 kills apiece, a career high for both players, while
Alexia Enache also made an impact with 14 kills and a career-best 15 digs. Miles hit an impressive .412 over 34 attempts for the match.
Emily Sun racked up 30 assists and
Melissa Eyer had 24 digs to lead five Swarthmore players with double-digit digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams were evenly matched early in the opening set. The Garnet had a slim 11-10 lead when the Bears pulled ahead with a 10-3 run to take a 20-14 advantage. Swarthmore cut the deficit to two (24-22) but Ursinus claimed the stanza with a kill. The Bears had their best attack percentage of the match at .270 in the set to go along with five blocks.
- The two sides went back and forth throughout the second set. The Garnet were in front 10-9 before the Bears strung together four points to take a 13-10 edge. However, Swarthmore answered with four points of its own to retake a one-point cushion (14-13). The teams traded points for several minutes and it was a one-point Ursinus lead (20-19) late in the frame. The Bears then put the set away with five consecutive points, including three kills and a service ace.
- Ursinus carried the momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. However, the Garnet pushed back with four in a row to seize the upper hand, 4-3. The teams went back and forth until it was tied at 16. Swarthmore received a kill from Miles, a block by
Zindzhi Montgomery and
Angelina Heminway, then a Heminway kill to go ahead 19-16.
- The Garnet held a 21-18 advantage in the third set before the Bears put on the pressure with a 4-0 stretch to go in front by one (22-21). Adam and Miles posted back-to-back kills to put the home team ahead once more. After a Ursinus kill evened the score at 23, Miles put Swarthmore on top for good with a kill before an attack error kept the Garnet alive and sent the match to a fourth set.
- Swarthmore opened up a 3-1 lead in the fourth stanza and never trailed as it posted its best set of the match. The Garnet compiled a .316 hitting percentage during the frame. The Bears tied it at six but Swarthmore responded with a 5-1 surge to take an 11-7 lead. Ursinus closed the gap to one (12-11) but the Garnet pulled away with a 13-3 run to finish off the set. Miles led the charge with six kills with Enache adding three.
- In the decisive set, the two squads were deadlocked at three. Swarthmore tallied three straight points on kills by Miles, Heminway, and Enache to go ahead 6-3. The Bears were able to get within one twice, but a 4-1 Garnet rally made it 13-9. Adam had three kills during the stretch and
Hannah Humphreys chipped in with one. After two Ursinus points, Miles produced another kill to put the Garnet on the cusp of victory at 14-11. The Bears recorded their final point with a block before committing an error on the ensuing serve to give Swarthmore the win.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Adam, Miles 18
Assists: Sun 30
Service Aces:
Aleida Moreno, Sun 2
Blocks: Humphreys 3
Digs: Eyer 24
UP NEXT
The Garnet (8-4, 2-0 Centennial) look to keep rolling on Saturday when they travel to McDaniel College for another conference matchup.
