ANNVILLE, Pa.–For the second consecutive season, the Swarthmore College volleyball team (27-5) concluded its season as the ECAC champions with a 3-0 rout of Emerson College on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Sarah Wallace was named the Tournament MVP and surpassed the 1,000-dig mark late in the championship match. The outside hitter from San Francisco, California is the 11th player in program history to achieve the milestone and the fifth to reach 1,000 in both kills and digs.

Libero Sarah Girard also earned a place on the All-Tournament team and has 988 career digs after two seasons.

It was the first year that the ECAC expanded the tournament to a 16-team field by combining its four different member regions.

Swarthmore dropped only one set in its four ECAC matches; the Garnet fought off a spirited NYU squad in the semifinal and prevailed 3-1 after conceding the first set.

In the final against the Emerson Lions, the defending champs wasted little time, dispatching their foes by a 25-12, 25-12, 25-19 count. Olivia Leventhal had nine kills and no errors for a .474 hitting percentage as Wallace and Bridget Scott each chipped in six. Sarah Girard led all players with 11 digs and tallied three service aces, as did sophomore Guin Mesh.

Earlier in the day, the Garnet nearly went down two sets against the NYU Violets before ultimately prevailing 23-25, 30-28, 25-11, 25-14.Wallace had 19 kills in the match and Mehra den Braven was close behind with 15. Malia Scott and Elise Cummings had 26 and 20 assists, respectively, while Girard delivered a career-high six aces.

After falling narrowly in the first frame, Swarthmore battled NYU and held a 24-21 lead before the Violets clawed their way back, earning a set point of their own in the process. Swarthmore saved that one and two others, playing NYU to a 28-28 stalemate. A kill by Wallace and an attack error gave the Garnet a well-earned tie at one apiece.

They rode that momentum to quick wins in the third and fourth sets to advance to the finals. Girard had all of her aces in the final two frames as Wallace buried seven kills and Leventhal put down six with no errors. In the third set alone, Swarthmore hit .519 and limited their opponents to a .087 mark.

Seniors Amanda Reed and Christina Shincovich graduate as the most successful senior class in program history with 90 wins to their name. Swarthmore is slated to return its entire starting lineup for the 2017 season.