Garnet Too Strong for Shorewomen
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Garnet volleyball team (6-11, 1-1CC) swept Washington College 3-0 on Wednesday night at Tarble Pavilion. Swarthmore beat the Shorewomen (5-7, 0-3 CC) in the Centennial Conference match by game scores of 30-22, 30-27, and 30-20.
With the victory the Garnet improve to 6-11, 1-1 CC while the Shorewomen drop to 5-8, 0-3 CC.
Swarthmore received solid all around play throughout the night getting contributions from many sources. Garnet outside hitter Jen Wang '09 (Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry Gunn) led the attack with 11 kills and 12 digs to record her third straight double-double. Swarthmore also got double digits kills from senior captain Katherine Gold (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) and sophomore Johanna Bond (Pittsford, N.Y. / Pittsford-Sutherland). Setter Kearney Bangs '10 (Kingston, Wash. / North Kitsap) paced the squad with 46 assists, while captain Erin Heaney (Buffalo, N.Y. / City Honors) tallied a match-high 22 digs.
Washington was led by setter Caitlin Ward '10 (Wantagh, N.Y. / Holy Trinity) who led in team in kills (12) and assists (27). Junior librero Arielle Brown (Merion, Pa./ Lower Merion) posted 21 digs to guide the Shorewomen.
With members of the faculty and staff in attendance to promote the relationship between athletics and academics, the Garnet got off to a hot start jumping out to a 20-12 lead to force a Washington timeout. The Shorewomen were able to cut into the deficit, but consistent play allowed Swarthmore to hold off the rally to capture the opening game.
The second game featured exciting back-and-forth play as the teams exchanged the lead throughout with no one looking to grab it for good. Garnet captain's Heaney and Gold swung the momentum in the home team's favor with a couple of clutch plays. With the score tied up at 27, Heaney blasted an ace in the middle of the Shorewomen defense to put the Garnet up 28-27. Gold made sure that there would be no more lead changes as she recorded a kill and a block solo to secure the game.
The Garnet were able to carry the positive vibes following the break to easily win the third game. Bond made a kill to put Swarthmore up 16-10 forcing a Washington timeout. It was all downhill from there as the Garnet continued its clean play to wrap up the match. The home team committed only 13 errors compared to the Shorewomen's 22.
Swarthmore will look to continue its winning ways this weekend as they travel to McDaniel for a Saturday showdown against the Green Terror. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.