Garnet, Seagulls Fly Through Day One
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Host Swarthmore and Salisbury swept through both of their matches on the first day of action at the sixth annual Garnet Classic in Tarble Pavilion Saturday evening.
Swarthmore (3-6) out-lasted a resilient Clark squad in five sets, winning 3-2 (25-15, 25-12, 22-25, 25-27, 15-11) while getting 19 kills, 10 digs and eight aces from freshman outside hitter Genny Pezzola (Oakland, Calif. / St. Mary’s College HS). Junior setter Kearney Bangs (Kingston, Wash. / North Kitsap) posted season-high 41 assists while first-year Lisa Shang (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) registered a match-best 16 digs.
Clark junior outside hitter Maritza Fair (Bronx, N.Y. / Nightingale-Bamford) led the Panthers with 17 kills while classmate Emily Visone (West Hempstead, N.Y. / West Hempstead) led the defense with 15 digs.
Salisbury (8-1) battled past pesky Cabrini (2-6) in their first match, winning 3-0 with set scores of 26-24, 25-19, 25-15. Seagull senior outside hitter Stacey Krebs (Eldersburg, Md. / Liberty) had match-high 13 kills and sophomore outside hitter Nicole Massarelli (Clarksville, Md. / Atholton) added 10 kills of her own. Senior Jamie Marzocchi (Harrington, N.J. / Old Tappan) fueled the offense with 29 assists and libero Gabby Long (Bel Air, Md. / Bel Air) contributed 16 digs.
The Cavaliers got 17 digs apiece from seniors Lindsay Martin (Torrance, Calif. / Bishop Montgomery) and Danielle Finnegan (Brookhaven, Pa. / Sun Valley) while four players posted six kills apiece.
Cabrini took the first set of its evening match with Swarthmore, but the hometown Garnet prevailed 3-1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-13, 25-22) behind a 26-kill, 10-effort from senior outside hitter Jen Wang (Palo Alto, Calif. / Henry Gunn). Bangs set a new season-high with 44 assists and 16 digs while Pezzola added 14 kills and 18 digs (her fourth consecutive double-double).
Martin posted 21 more digs for Cabrini while sophomore Stephanie Recklau (Holland, Pa. / Council Rock South) contributed a team-high 12 kills.
Salisbury got 12 kills on 13 attempts from junior outside hitter Rachel Downes (Salisbury, Md. / Salisbury Christian) while Krebs added nine kills of her own and Marzocchi posted 16 assists as the Seagulls rolled to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25, 25-20) victory over Clark.
Freshman Kortney Kelley (Cummaquid, Mass. / Barnstable) tallied 11 digs for Clark while classmate Kristin McGinty (Gypsum, Colo. / Vail Christian) had five kills.
By virtue of limited teams at this year’s Garnet Classic, Swarthmore and Salisbury will face off twice on Sunday morning, once in their scheduled round-robin play at 10:00 a.m., and then again in the championship match, scheduled to start around 12:00 p.m. Clark and Cabrini will also square off two times in the same dame; the match times are similar.
Day One Results:
Swarthmore 3, Clark 2 (25-15, 25-12, 22-25, 25-27, 15-11)
Salisbury 3, Cabrini 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-15)
Swarthmore 3, Cabrini 1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-13, 25-22)
Salisbury 3, Clark 0 (25-14, 25-10, 25, 25-20)
Day Two Schedule
Salisbury at Swarthmore , 10:00 a.m.
Cabrini vs. Clark, 10:00 a.m.
Salisbury at Swarthmore, 12:00 p.m.
Cabrini vs. Clark, 12:00 p.m.