HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College volleyball team (4-1) stunned No. 19 Susquehanna (4-1) with a reverse sweep in front of a charged up home crowd at Gooding Arena on Friday, opening up Ford Invitational play with a 3-2 win over the River Hawks.
The win was Haverford's first over a ranked opponent since a 3-2 win over then-No. 14 Eastern on September 27, 2014. A large part of Haverford's comeback effort was the all-around play of reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Taylor Jones. Jones notched 15 kills and added seven total blocks, committing just two errors on her 34 swings for a .382 hitting percentage on the evening. Kendall Otridge added 12 kills on 24 swings, also committing just two errors, while Izabela Potocnjak added 10 kills to her ledger. Juliet Young paced the Fords with 34 digs while Cameryn DeBlecourt (25) and Kayla Chu (21) combined for 46 of Haverford's 50 assists. Jadyn Elliott was again integral on the block with six total blocks herself to help pace Haverford's strong comeback effort.
Susquehanna got off to a speedy start, winning the first two sets by 25-17 and 25-20 finals to seize the early momentum of the contest and send Haverford searching for answers. The Fords were poised and ready to make their comeback bid beginning with a strong third set push. After the score was tied 8-8 in the frame, a big stretch from the Fords began with DeBlecourt at the service line. Back-to-back errors from the River Hawks came before a huge kill by Jones and a service ace from DeBlecourt, as the run reached 15-8 after Jones and Jadyn Elliott teamed up on a kill to force a Susquehanna timeout.
The lead shrank to just four at 19-15, but after the River Hawks climbed back to within one at 22-21, the block again came up huge, with Jones and Elliott there to end the frame at 25-22 in Haverford's favor. The fourth set was similar, with neither side gaining much separation before a nifty 4-1 run for the Fords put Haverford up 20-15. A kill from Elliott then made the score 22-16, and Haverford added the final three points of the frame behind some playmaking from Potocnjak and Jones.
With the Fords all the way back from the brink to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the decisive fifth set, momentum was again going to be key in the early goings of the crucial frame. Luckily, the Fords had it in spades out of the gates to the tune of a 4-0 run with DeBlecourt as the service line. The run eventually hit 7-3 after Elliott and Annibelle Ernst teamed up for a block, and at the changeover, Haverford held an 8-3 lead. The Fords had designs on pulling away and did so with Otridge and Jones each stepping up in those clutch moments where leadership can make all the difference.
The pair teamed up for a block for a 12-6 lead, and Jones delivered an empathic solo rejection to fire up the crowd at 13-6, prompting a Susquehanna timeout. The River Hawks talked things over, looking to get out of the hole, but Otridge punched down a kill off a pass from Chu to make the score 14-16, and Jones ended the match with a kill of her own at 15-7.
Rosina Esposito notched a double-double effort for the visitors with 19 kills and 11 digs while Keira Roch had a match-best 46 assists. Haverford improves to 7-3 all-time against Susquehanna as the two sides were meeting for the first time since the 2014 Haverford Invitational.
The Fords now return to action tomorrow, taking on a pair of teams receiving votes in the national poll as the Fords take on Springfield (11 a.m.) before returning for the afternoon match against SUNY Cortland (2 p.m.) to wrap up tournament action.