Diplomats Turn Back Garnet on Senior Night
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore senior Erica George broke the school record for digs and added eight kills as visiting Franklin & Marshall downed the Garnet 3-0 in Centennial Conference volleyball action on Senior Night in Tarble Pavilion. The Diplomats (14-5 overall, 9-0 CC) defeated Swarthmore (12-11, 3-5 CC) by scores of 30-28, 30-22, 30-24.
The match was preceded by the ceremonies honoring the final regular season home match of Swarthmore's two seniors - outside hitter George and right side Stephanie Koskowich.
The Garnet jumped out to a 17-12 lead in game one following a pair of service aces from junior middle blocker Katherine Gold. George came into the match needing only four digs to pass current Swarthmore assistant coach Patrice Berry '06 (1,433 career digs). The senior captain registered the milestone with three digs in one sequence and the score 19-12 in favor of the Garnet.
The Diplomats knotted the score at 25-apiece before a kill from Swarthmore outside hitter Jen Wang '09 forced an F&M timeout with the score 27-25 Swarthmore. The Diplomats responded by collecting three of the next four points, eliciting a time-out from the Swarthmore bench. F&M came out of the break with the serve and got a bit of luck - as the attempt headed out of bounds to the left side, the ball clipped the net and fell right on the line. The Diplomats claimed the final point to win the first game 30-28.
F&M had little trouble in the second game, getting five kills from outside hitter Margot Phelan and converted nine of the last eleven points for the 30-22 win.
The third game was neck-and-neck with the Garnet running off five of six points to tie the score at 21-21. The Diplomats took control, tallying seven of the final nine points to remain undefeated in Centennial action in 2006.
George led the Swarthmore offensive attack with 10 kills while junior middle Karen Berk and Wang added eight kills each. Gold had an impressive all-around performance, posting five kills, four aces and seven digs. Freshman setter Kearney Bangs handed out 25 assists while sophomore libero Erin Heaney sailed around the court for a team-high 20 digs.
George concluded the match with 11 digs, giving her 1441 career digs and another school record - she holds the career kills mark with 1122 at the end of the match on Thursday.
Berk added a team-high five blocks to move into the top ten all-time in Centennial Conference history with 340 career blocks.
The Garnet collected 66 digs as a team - the number is significant as the Swarthmore women selected tonight's match as the measuring stick for their participation in the "Digging For a Cure" fundraiser. Each of the Garnet volleyball players also sported pink ribbons in their hair, showing support for the fight against breast cancer.
Swarthmore resumes Centennial action at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 21 in Allentown, Pa. on the campus of Muhlenberg College.