SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College volleyball team completed a sweep of its home Swarthmore Invitational with a pair of victories over Widener University, 3-1, and DeSales University, 3-0, on Saturday.
The Garnet ran through the first two sets against the Pride, before bouncing back from a third-set defeat in a 3-1 outcome. Ella Tsai recorded a team-high 10 kills, while Melissa Eyer added 29 digs and Mailey Wang posted five blocks.
Swarthmore took care of business with a 3-0 sweep of the Bulldogs in the tournament finale. Tsai collected nine kills for another team-high, while Maya Sheridan and Lois Matsukawa had 17 and 15 assists, respectively.
SWARTHMORE 3, WIDENER 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Pride broke out to an early 6-3 lead, but could not hold off the surging Garnet, who countered with an 11-3 run. Tsai capped off the stretch with back-to-back kills to put Swarthmore ahead 14-9. Swarthmore closed the stanza with an 11-2 rally, overpowering Widener with a decisive 25-13 win.
- Swarthmore got off to a fast start in the second set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead. Mailey Wang and Keira Miles both aided the run with a pair of kills. The Pride would battle back to cut its deficit to three, but the Garnet turned up momentum with six-unanswered points to close the set, 25-16.
- Widener established early momentum with a 12-6 lead in a must-win third set. The Garnet would cut its deficit in half after consecutive aces by Nicole Kim, and eventually gained the lead with a 6-1 rally to go ahead 20-19. However, Widener finished the set strong with a 5-2 edge to force a fourth set, 25-21.
- After falling behind 6-2 in the fourth set, the Garnet regained momentum with five-straight points. Eyer contributed to the run with three-straight aces, while Isabel Adam added a kill. Swarthmore then put away the Pride for good with a stretch of nine-straight points, building a 17-8 lead. Adam clinched victory for the Garnet with a kill to seal a dominant 25-13 set.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Tsai 10
Assists: Sheridan 23
Aces: Eyer 4
Blocks: Wang 5
Digs: Eyer 29
SWARTHMORE 3, DESALES 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet took a 13-6 lead in the opening set until DeSales climbed back into contention with five-straight points. Swarthmore held onto a slim advantage before the Bulldogs rattled off another 5-0 swing to build a 17-16 edge. DeSales increased its lead to 22-19, but the Garnet refused to concede, regrouping for five-straight points before clinching the set on a Tsai kill, 25-23.
- Both teams traded leads in the second set until the Garnet set pace with 10-unanswered points to build a 20-11 cushion. Miles and Tsai each tallied a pair of kills during the run to lead the charge. DeSales was able to rally within five points until Aiste Bardauskaite closed the set with a kill, 25-19.
- Swarthmore began to put the game away with a 7-1 run to open the third set. DeSales remained within striking distance before Miles and Adam helped orchestrate a 4-0 run to build a 23-14 lead. Tsai later closed the set with a kill to complete a weekend sweep.
GARNET LEADERS
Kills: Tsai 9, Adam 8
Assists: Sheridan 17
Aces: Adam, Matsukawa, Sheridan 2
Digs: Eyer 23
UP NEXT
The Garnet (7-2) open Centennial Conference play with Muhlenberg College on Friday.
