ITHACA, N.Y. – The Swarthmore College volleyball team dropped its first match at the Ithaca Invitational, 3-1, to Smith College on Friday.
 
The Bears took the opening set before the Garnet fought back to even the match at one. Smith then won back-to-back sets to capture the match.
 
Alexia Enache led Swarthmore with 15 kills while Isabel Adam and Keira Miles added nine and seven respectively. Madeline Mountcastle amassed 19 assists while Nicole Kim totaled an impressive seven service aces. Aiste Bardauskaite and Miles tallied four blocks apiece while Melissa Eyer finished with 12 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet got out to a 4-2 lead in the opening set. The Bears answered with a 5-2 run to go ahead 7-6 before Swarthmore regained the advantage with four straight points. Adam recorded a pair of kills and Miles added one during the 4-0 stretch. Smith tallied three in a row to tie it at 10. It was the first of four ties from that point with the last coming at 18-all. The Bears then used a 4-1 surge to take control and they went on to win the set 25-22.
 
- The Garnet dominated the start of the second set, reeling off 11 unanswered points for an 11-0 lead. All of the points came on the serve of Kim, who scored four aces during the run. Four different players registered a kill with Bardauskaite and Zindzhi Montgomery teaming up for a block. Swarthmore's largest lead of the frame was 12 (13-1). Smith chipped away at the deficit to get within six (17-11) but it was the closest the Bears would get as the Garnet took the stanza 25-18. Swarthmore held Smith to a .083 attack percentage in the set.
 
- The teams were even at six early in the third set. The Garnet used a 6-2 rally to take a 12-8 advantage. Enache notched an ace with Adam scoring two kills while Miles added one kill. However, the Bears clawed back with a 15-4 run to go ahead 23-16. Swarthmore tallied five straight points to get within two (23-21) but Smith would close out the frame with a 25-22 victory.
 
- The Bears jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the final stanza. With the score 10-8, Smith pulled away with five consecutive points to lead 15-8. The Garnet were unable to get closer than six points the rest of the way as the Bears clinched the match with a 25-18 decision.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Enache 15
Assists: Mountcastle 19
Aces: Kim 7
Blocks: Bardauskaite, Miles 4
Digs: Eyer 12
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (6-4) concludes the tournament on Saturday with matches against No. 20 Ithaca College and New York University.