ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team dropped a tough five-set match at Eastern University on Friday night, 3-2.
 
The Garnet won the opening set then the Eagles came back to take the next two for a 2-1 lead. Swarthmore pulled out the win in a close fourth set to take the match the distance but Eastern rallied in the fifth to claim the match.
 
Isabel Adam led the Garnet attack with 20 kills followed by Alexia Enache with 18. Madeline Mountcastle, Emily Sun, and Melissa Eyer all reached double figures in assists with 24, 21, and 11 respectively with Eyer adding team highs of 24 digs and three service aces. Enache (17), Mountcastle (12), and Sun (10) also tallied double-digit digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles got out to a 9-6 advantage in the opening set before Swarthmore scored six in a row to go in front 12-9. Adam sparked the rally with three kills. However, Eastern responded with seven of the next nine to regain the edge, 16-14. After the Garnet posted four straight points, the Eagles followed with two to tie the score at 18. The teams traded points until back-to-back Swarthmore errors gave Eastern a 23-22 lead. The Garnet bounced back with a kill by Angelina Heminway then two from Adam to win the set, 25-23.
 
- The score was even at three early in the second set. Swarthmore then went on a 7-2 run to open up a five-point cushion (10-5). Keira Miles and Enache each recorded two kills during the stretch. The Garnet held onto the lead until it was 21-19. The Eagles then rallied for four consecutive points to go ahead 23-21. Swarthmore was able to tie it up at 23 but Eastern followed with back-to-back kills to take the frame, 25-23.
 
- The score was deadlocked at 11 in the third set before the Eagles took over for good with an 9-1 surge. Eastern cruised to a 25-16 victory for a 2-1 edge in the match.
 
- It was a back-and-forth affair in the fourth set, with neither team able to take more than a three-point lead. Late in the frame, the Eagles were up 22-19 when the Garnet scored four straight to take a one-point advantage. Adam posted two kills and Heminway added one. After Eastern notched a kill to even the score, the Eagles committed a service error then Sun followed with an ace to give Swarthmore a 25-23 win and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
- The Garnet got out to a 4-1 lead in the final stanza but Eastern responded with a 6-1 run to go ahead by two (7-5). Swarthmore trailed by one (8-7) before the Eagles scored four of the next five to take a commanding 12-8 advantage in the shortened set. The Garnet cut the deficit to two twice but an Eastern kill brought up match point at 14-11. Back-to-back blocks by Swarthmore got the Garnet within one but a kill by the Eagles clinched the match for the home team, 15-13.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Adam 20
Assists: Mountcastle 24
Service Aces: Eyer 3
Blocks: Hannah Humphreys, Zindzhi Montgomery 3
Digs: Eyer 24
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (14-7) begins a week of key conference matches with a trip to Franklin and Marshall College on Wednesday.