UNION, N.J. – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team rolled to a pair of victories on Friday night, defeating SUNY New Paltz and Kean University by identical 3-0 scores. The Garnet have now won four straight matches.
Alexia Enache led the Swarthmore attack, totaling 25 kills over the two matches. She also tallied 15 digs.
Isabel Adam produced 14 kills and 10 digs while
Keira Miles added 13 kills.
Emily Sun and
Madeline Mountcastle racked up 34 and 22 assists respectively.
Melissa Eyer paced the squad with 31 digs while
Zindzhi Montgomery had a team-high six blocks. Mountcastle and Eyer totaled six and five service aces respectively.
SWARTHMORE 3, SUNY NEW PALTZ 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet had an early 3-1 lead in the opening set but the Hawks scored nine of the next 11 points to go ahead 10-5. Trailing 11-6, Swarthmore went on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to one (13-12). The teams went back and forth and the Hawks had a 16-14 advantage midway through the set. The Garnet then rallied for nine consecutive points to regain the lead, 23-16. Eyer registered three aces to spark the run and Enache had a pair of kills. Swarthmore went on to win the set 25-18.
- The Garnet scored the first three points of the second set. The Hawks were within one (5-4) before Swarthmore created separation with four unanswered points, two of which came on Enache kills. The Garnet maintained at least a three-point cushion for several minutes. With the score 16-12, Swarthmore had another 4-0 stretch to push the margin to eight (20-12). New Paltz followed with four of the next five but the Garnet scored four in a row again to take the set 25-16.
- Swarthmore trailed 3-2 early in the third but quickly bounced back with six straight points to go in front 8-3. Miles tallied two kills during the sequence. The Garnet led 10-5 before the Hawks produced a 9-2 surge to go ahead 14-12. Swarthmore answered with three points but New Paltz fought back with four in a row to take an 18-15 advantage. With the Hawks ahead 20-17, the Garnet rallied for eight of the final 10 points to clinch the match 25-22. Swarthmore recorded five kills during the stretch, including three by Enache.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Enache 13
Assists: Sun 14
Service Aces: Eyer, Mountcastle 4
Blocks: Montgomery 3
Digs: Eyer 13
SWARTHMORE 3, KEAN 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet led 3-1 early before the host Cougars registered six of the next eight to go in front 7-5. Swarthmore evened the score at seven then the two sides traded several points. With Kean holding a slim 10-9 advantage, the Garnet embarked on a 9-3 run to take an 18-13 lead. Still down five (22-17), the Cougars scored four consecutive points to close the gap to one (22-21). However, Swarthmore came back with a kill by Eyer, a Sun ace, and a kill from Adam to close out the set.
- The Garnet got out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. The teams then went back and forth for several minutes. Swarthmore was ahead 9-7 before pulling away with a 4-0 stretch. However, Kean responded with four unanswered points of its own to get back within two. The Garnet finally put the set to bed with a 9-0 surge on the way to a 25-14 win.
- The score was even at seven in the third set before Swarthmore went on a 9-3 run to lead by six (16-10). The Cougars followed with five in a row to get within one (16-15). Kean trailed by one three more times in the set but were unable to pull level. With the score 22-21, the Garnet tallied three straight points, two of which were kills by
Angelina Heminway, to clinch the match.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Enache 12
Assists: Sun 20
Service Aces: Adam 3
Blocks: Enache, Montgomery 3
Digs: Eyer 18
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (6-4) begins Centennial Conference play at home versus Dickinson College on September 28.
