HOLLAND, Mich. – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team was defeated by a pair of top-10 squads on Saturday, snapping the Garnet's nine-match win streak. Swarthmore fell to No. 2 Hope College and No. 10 Millikin University by matching 3-0 scores.
Alexia Enache notched a team-high 16 kills on the day for the Garnet followed by
Keira Miles with 15.
Emily Sun and
Madeline Mountcastle racked up 23 assists apiece with Mountcastle adding 20 digs.
Melissa Eyer led Swarthmore with 24 digs and
Hannah Humphreys tallied seven blocks.
SWARTHMORE 0, HOPE 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Flying Dutch opened the match with five straight points on the way to a dominant first set. With the score 7-2, Hope pulled away from the Garnet with an 8-2 stretch. The Flying Dutch closed the frame with a 9-2 run to win the opener, 25-8.
- Swarthmore got off to a better start in the second set, taking an early 4-1 lead. The Garnet maintained the advantage until it was 11-8. Hope then rallied for seven of the next nine points to go in front 15-13. Swarthmore was within one (18-17) when the Flying Dutch created some separation with four consecutive points. With the score 23-18, the Garnet recorded four in a row to cut the deficit to one again (23-22). Enache registered a pair of service aces and Mountcastle added a kill during the sequence. However, a Swarthmore error and a Hope ace gave the Flying Dutch a 25-22 victory.
- The teams were even at 10 in the third set when Hope scored five straight to take a 15-10 advantage. The Garnet chipped away at the deficit and eventually came within one (21-20). After the teams traded the next four points, however, Hope recorded a kill then benefitted from a hitting error to clinch the match with a 25-22 decision.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Enache 8
Assists: Sun 10
Service Aces: Enache 3
Blocks: Humphreys 4
Digs: Eyer 14
SWARTHMORE 0, MILLIKIN 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the opening set. However, the Big Blue then took over with a 9-2 surge for a 13-8 advantage. The Garnet were only able to whittle the deficit down to three on a trio of occasions, the last being at 20-17. Millikin then closed the set with a 5-1 run to take it, 25-18.
- The Big Blue carried the momentum into the second frame, taking an early 5-1 lead. With the score 13-10, Swarthmore scored three in a row to even it up at 13 apiece. Enache led the rally with a pair of kills. The two sides were deadlocked at 14 when Millikin went ahead for good with five unanswered points. The Big Blue went on to win the set, 25-19.
- Millikin earned the first four points of the third set but the Garnet responded with four of the next five to get within one (5-4). Swarthmore tied the score at seven but the Big Blue came back with four in a row to restore a four-point cushion (11-7). Kills by Humphreys,
Angelina Heminway, and
Isabel Adam got the Garnet back within one (11-10). The teams traded the next several points until it was a 15-14 Millikin edge. The Big Blue then pulled away with a 4-1 stretch and went on to finish off the match with a 25-18 win.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Miles 10
Assists: Mountcastle 15
Service Aces: Eyer 2
Blocks: Humphreys 3
Digs: Eyer 10
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (11-6) aims to bounce back on Friday at DeSales University.
