COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Sophomore Elizabeth Cella delivered a historic 30-kill performance and senior Kira Chaney reached the 1,000-career-dig plateau as the Haverford College volleyball team defeated Ursinus in four sets Wednesday evening at Helfferich Hall. The Fords rallied from an opening-set loss to prevail 22-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-16, improving to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in Centennial Conference play after the midweek triumph.
Cella's career-high 30 kills established a Haverford record for a four-set match, surpassing Keri Godbe's 27 against Elizabethtown on Sept. 28, 2013. The performance ranks third in program history regardless of match length and marks the first time a Ford has reached 30 kills since Jen Constantino's school-record 35 against North Carolina Wesleyan on Sept. 29, 2000. Jelyn Meyer holds the second-highest total with 32 kills against Gettysburg on Sept. 27, 2000.
The sophomore's total also ranks second in NCAA Division III this season for a four-set match and represents the most by a Centennial Conference player in a four-set contest since 2006.
Chaney joined Cella in celebrating a milestone evening, collecting 17 digs to bring her career total to 1,014. The senior entered the match just three digs shy of the 1,000-dig plateau, helping anchor a Haverford defense that limited Ursinus to a .057 hitting percentage.
Cella accounted for a whopping half of Haverford's 60 kills, hitting .313 on 67 attempts while adding 13 digs for a double-double. Fiona Moord contributed 11 kills on .471 hitting and four solo blocks, while Marlee Hills finished with eight kills and Gia Frank added six.
Anna Krotky Koeppe distributed 27 assists and served two aces, while Dasha Igonin handed out 21 assists. Sierra Lever expertly paced the back row with 18 digs, joining Chaney and Cella in double figures.
The opening set remained close into the final points, with a Cella kill bringing Haverford even at 20-20. Ursinus responded with three unanswered points and held off the visitors to take the frame, 25-22. The Fords committed 12 attack errors in the set before finding their rhythm offensively.
Haverford answered with a commanding second-set performance, hitting .419 with 16 kills against just three errors. After building a 10-6 advantage, the Fords rattled off 10 consecutive points to take control. Cella supplied six kills during the run, while Lever added an ace as Haverford stretched its lead to 20-6. Cella finished the frame with 10 kills, helping the Fords even the match with a 25-14 victory.
The Bears opened the third set with a 9-3 lead, but Hills sparked the response with three consecutive kills. Haverford continued to chip away before moving ahead, 14-12, behind a Moord kill and solo block followed by a Krotky Koeppe kill.
With the score later tied at 15-15, the Fords won 10 of the final 11 points. Cella contributed two kills during a six-point run on Igonin's serve, while Frank, Hills and Maggie Turner each added a kill down the stretch as Haverford secured the set, 25-16.
Cella put away 11 more kills in the fourth, helping the Fords pull away after another competitive start. Trailing 14-13, Haverford regained the lead with three consecutive kills from Moord and Cella. The visitors later closed the match with six unanswered points, with Krotky Koeppe serving two aces during the finishing run, including the match-clinching point.
Haverford finished with a .255 hitting percentage for the night, and nine total blocks. Madison Small led Ursinus (4-12, 0-4 CC) with nine kills, while Chloe Kamp recorded 15 assists for the Bears.
The Fords return to Gooding '84 Arena on Saturday, Oct. 17, hosting Gettysburg at 1 p.m. for their Hope Venture PINK OUT Campaign Pink Out match.
