LANCASTER, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (9-5, 0-1 CC) dropped its Centennial Conference opener Saturday at Franklin & Marshall (13-3, 1-0 CC), falling in four sets at the Mayser Center. The scores were 17-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-14. The Diplomats, receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll, had three players finish with double-digit kills.
Haverford opened the first set with steady offensive pressure, taking an early 15-8 lead behind strong serving from Eliana Brown. Elizabeth Cella delivered a kill to make it 17-12, and Gia Frank followed with another to extend the lead to 19-13. Defensive efforts forced errors from the Diplomats, helping the Fords maintain their advantage. A service ace from Cameryn DeBlecourt closed the set, giving Haverford a 25-17 edge as the Fords ended on a 5-0 run.
In the second set, the teams traded short leads early. A DeBlecourt service ace put the Fords ahead 13-12, but the Diplomats responded with a 6-0 run to take a 22-16 lead. Haverford struggled to contain Avery Grantham and Melissa Benkowitz down the stretch. After a service error from F&M, Benkowitz delivered a kill for set point. Blocks from Coco Shultz and Mya Anderson in succession tied the match at one set apiece.
The third set featured a significant momentum shift as Haverford mounted an offensive push early. Three errors and a service ace from Izabela Potocnjak gave the Fords a 13-9 lead, but F&M rallied to take an 18-14 advantage. Haverford stayed close, with an Eliana Brown service ace bringing the score to 22-20. With the Diplomats on the verge of set point, Cella delivered a kill amid a pair of errors to tie it at 23-23. Haverford fended off set point at 24-23, with Cella contributing back-to-back kills to put the Fords in command. The Diplomats eventually pulled ahead, tying the score at 25-25 and 26-26, but a block from Fiona Moord and Frank kept Haverford alive at 27-27. Grantham later put F&M ahead 28-27, before an ace closed the marathon set at 29-27 in favor of the Hosts.
The fourth set began with the Diplomats opening a 10-3 lead. Haverford responded with a brief rally, highlighted by kills from Brown and Moord, narrowing the deficit to just three. Kira Chaney added a service ace, but the Diplomats maintained control, eventually taking the set 25-14.
Cella led Haverford with 14 kills on 32 attempts, hitting .406, a new career high. Moord added six total blocks while Kayla Chu helped orchestrate the offense with 18 assists over four sets, while adding eight digs. Brown contributed seven kills and 10 digs.
Connolly led F&M with 18 kills on 35 attempts and a .457 hitting percentage. Grantham recorded 12 kills at an impressive .524, while Benkowitz contributed 18 digs in the backcourt. Abby Silinski added 15 digs to bolster the Diplomats' defense.
Haverford will next travel to Allentown, Pa., on Wednesday, October 8, to face Muhlenberg at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gym as the CC slate continues.
