HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's volleyball team suffered a pair of losses in a tri-match at Juniata College on Saturday. The Garnet fell to Ohio Northern University and the top-ranked Eagles by matching 3-0 scores.
 
The Swarthmore attack struggled to find its rhythm, posting a .093 hitting percentage on the day while the Garnet's opponents countered at a .416 clip.
 
Alexia Enache led Swarthmore with 15 kills with Izzy Adam adding 12. Madeline Mountcastle and Emily Sun racked up 19 and 18 assists respectively with Sun also recording five service aces. Melissa Eyer totaled a team-high 21 digs.
 
OHIO NORTHERN 3, SWARTHMORE 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Polar Bears opened with the first five points of the match to take the early lead. After a kill by Adam and an ace from Sun, ONU tallied four straight points to increase the advantage to seven (9-2). The Garnet cut the deficit to five (11-6) but the Polar Bears rallied again, this time with a 10-0 run, to take a commanding 21-6 lead on the way to a 25-13 win.
 
- Swarthmore began the second set with three consecutive service aces by Sun. However, ONU came back with four of the next five points to even it up at four. The teams were deadlocked at seven when the Polar Bears had a 4-1 stretch for an 11-8 edge. The Garnet trailed by two (12-10) but ONU pulled away with an 11-3 surge to go ahead 23-13. Swarthmore followed with a 6-1 rally but the Polar Bears then closed the set with a kill to win 25-19.
 
- The Garnet had another strong start in the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 advantage on an Adam kill and three Mountcastle aces. However, ONU countered with a 9-1 run, including eight straight points, to go in front 9-5. Swarthmore was able to close the gap to two (10-8) but the Polar Bears answered with four of the next five and went on to clinch the match with a 25-17 decision.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Adam, Enache 9
Assists: Mountcastle, Sun 12
Service Aces: Sun 4
Blocks: Zindzhi Montgomery 3
Digs: Eyer 13
 
JUNIATA 3, SWARTHMORE 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet got out to an early 6-4 lead against the two-time defending national champions. However, Juniata took over from that point, outscoring Swarthmore, 21-5, the rest of the way to win the set, 25-11.
 
- The Eagles continued their momentum in the second set, scoring the first four points. Kills by Adam, Enache, and Keira Miles helped the Garnet get within three (6-3) but Juniata responded with an 11-2 stretch to up the margin to 12 (17-5). Swarthmore recovered to score six of the next seven and cut the deficit to seven (18-11) but the Eagles went on to wrap up the set, 25-14.
 
- The Garnet enjoyed a fast start to the third, taking a 6-2 advantage. Juniata rallied to tie the score at seven before Swarthmore regained a two-point edge (9-7). The Eagles then took the upper hand for good with a 7-1 surge to go ahead 14-10. The Garnet got within three on multiple occasions but could not close the gap further as Juniata ended the match with an 8-1 run and win 25-15.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Enache 6
Assists: Mountcastle 7
Service Aces: Eyer, Sun 1
Blocks: Montgomery 3
Digs: Eyer 8
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (2-3) visits Stockton University on Thursday to conclude its six-match road trip.