HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College volleyball split a tri-match Wednesday evening at Gooding Arena. The Fords defeated Gettysburg College, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23), in a rematch of last season's Centennial Conference championship and lost to New York University, 3-1 (25-17, 27-29, 25-23, 25-15).
After falling to the Bullets in the first set, Haverford (5-8, 1-0 CC) picked things up offensively in the second by hitting .414 as a team and committing just three errors. The Fords held off Gettysburg's (5-9, 1-1 CC) late rally in the third set that saw the visitors wipe away a seven point deficit and get within one. A kill by Kate Comey and a Bullets attack error put the set away. The Fords trailed early in the fourth set, but thanks to a 5-0 run held a commanding 17-12 advantage. Haley Lowrance had the hot hand for HC with five kills in the set.
Lowrance led the way with a career-high 17 kills to go along with 10 digs. Kelsey Cantwell contributed 14 kills while Jenine Abbassi added nine. Comey handed out 48 assists, but more impressive were her seven kills and .778 hitting percentage. Caitlyn Tranquillo registered a match-high 20 digs.
Virginia Hogan registered a double-double for the Bullets with 12 kills and 12 digs. Sarah Gorski added 10 kills and hit .389. Gettysburg placed three players in double-digits in digs and were led by Lizzy Kuhn's 15.
Haverford fought back in the second set against New York (14-2) after dropping the first. The Fords fell behind early, but stayed within striking distance and avoided losing the set thanks to consecutive kills from Cantwell and Comey. A service ace by Lowrance put HC on the verge of victory, but the teams traded the next five points until a kill by Abbassi and a Bobcats attack error gave the Fords the set.
NYU stormed back to take the next two sets and held off another HC comeback in the third set.
Cantwell and Lowrance both posted double-doubles. Cantwell had 10 kills and 10 digs while Lowrance tallied 11 kills and 13 digs. Abbassi registered nine kills while hitting a stifling .583. Kaelyn Anderson added 13 digs and Tranquillo led all players with 23, marking her third consecutive match with at least 20. The Fords dominated the net with 9.0 blocks. Abbassi, Comey and Olivia Coburn-Flynn all tallied four block assists.
The Bobcats were led by Jessica Prepolec's 16 kills. Mina Baban dished out a match-high 47 assists.
The Fords host another tri-match Saturday, playing No. 2 Juniata College at 1 p.m. and Lynchburg (Va.) College at 4 p.m. Haverford fell to Juniata last Friday, 3-1, at the DePauw (Ind.) Tiger Classic.
