Garnet, Knights Steam To Five Set Thriller
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore freshman outside hitter Genny Pezzola amassed 31 digs and 17 kills while senior Jen Wang contributed a double-double of her own as the Garnet rally fell short in oppressive Tarble Pavilion Wednesday night. Visiting Neumann College held off Swarthmore for a 3-2 victory in non-conference women's volleyball action, winning by set scores of 25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 25-17 and 16-14.
Pezzola (Oakland Calif. / St. Mary's College HS), playing in just her third collegiate game, became the first player in the Centennial Conference to join the 30-dig club in 2008. Appearing seemingly everywhere on the court Wednesday night, Pezzola amassed over 25 digs for the second time this season. Wang (Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry Gunn) notched her second double-double of the season, hitting 12 kills while picking up 21 digs.
Neumann (1-4) fresh off a trip to the West Coast where the Knights faced four strong teams, including two clubs (#7 Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran) had the offensive attack clicking in the first set, hitting .250 as a team on the way to a first set victory.
The Garnet (0-3) fell behind 11-5 in the second set following a kill from Neumann sophomore Ashley Mathis (Norristown, Pa. / Norristown). A 14-7 run, capped by a kill by Pezzola (pictured above), gave Swarthmore its first lead of the evening, 19-18. Three more Pezzola kills aided a second set victory for the Garnet.
Swarthmore jumped out to a 13-8 lead in the third set and held the lead throughout the set. Four more Pezzola kills, added to three from sophomore outside hitter Sarah Lambert (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Blackhawk), gave the Garnet a 2-1 lead.
Several errors by the Knights staked a 5-2 lead for Swarthmore early in the third set. Mathis (five kills in the set) started finding open spots in the court, fueling a 15-7 run by the visitors. A kill by Knights' teammate Emilee Gruse (Lafayette, Ind. / St. Mark's) capped the fourth set win, setting up the deciding fifth and final set.
Neumann raced out to a 7-3 lead, leading to a Swarthmore timeout. An 8-4 Garnet run, ignited by the shirt-waving fans on the east of the Pavilion and kills from Pezzola and classmate Hillary Santana (South Lake Tahoe, Calif. / South Lake Tahoe), brought the match, and the crowd, to a fevered tilt. Another kill by Pezzola made the score 14-14 but a pair of attack errors by Swarthmore allowed Neumann to escape back across town with the victory.
Swarthmore junior setter Kearney Bangs (Kingston, Wash. / North Kitsap) handed out 34 assists while amassing 11 digs. The defense continued its strong play despite the rising temperatures in the stagnate gym, amassing 108 digs as a team.
Knights' setter Kristen Verone (Folsom, Pa. / Cardinal O'Hara) calmly directed the visitors' offense with nary a hiccup, handing out a match-high 46 assists while accumulating 13 digs. Mathis posted a match-high 18 kills while Julia Tarloski (Malvern, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) added 13 kills. Neumann libero Meghan Wilson (West Chester., Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) paced the Knights' defense with 25 digs.
Swarthmore embarks on a trek north to Maine this weekend, facing NESCAC teams while participating in the Colby Invitational and a single match at Bowdoin. The Garnet have an away trip at Moravian before returning to Tarble Pavilion to host the Garnet Classic on Sept. 13-14.