November
9, 2006
Haverford Knocks Off Lycoming, 3-1;
Will Face Gallaudet in NCAA Regional Semifinals
HUNTINGDON, PA – Third-seeded Haverford
College (25-4 overall) earned its first ever NCAA Postseason
Tournament victory, defeating sixth-seeded Lycoming (17-14), 3-1
(30-21, 30-17, 31-33, 30-17) in NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball
Mid-Atlantic Regional Quarterfinal action Thursday afternoon. AVCA
Mid-Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year, and first team All-Centennial
Conference outside hitter Rebecca Salvo led the Fords with a team-high
19 kills and five blocks along with 23 digs.
The Fords started off the match sluggish, falling behind the Lady
Warriors 10-6 in the opening game. However, Haverford closed out
the match with a 24-11 run to take game one, 30-21. Haverford's
momentum carried into game two, as the Fords got off to a 15-8 start
and never looked back, taking the game, 30-17. Lycoming rallied
back in game three, holding small leads throughout the game. The
Fords were down towards the end of game three, 28-25, but came back
to take a 29-28 lead. Lycoming then came back to tie the game at
29, 30, and 31 a piece. The Lady Warriors were then able to capitalize
on two Ford errors to take game three, 33-31. Haverford came out
of the gates hot in game four, and put the match away with its second,
30-17, game victory.
Junior setter, and second team All-Centennial selection Emily Hinchcliff
dished out a match-high 53 assists along with ten digs and three
blocks. Freshman middle hitter and All-Centennial honorable mention
Rachel Salvo added 18 kills and 22 digs, while junior outside hitter
Laura Nuyen collected a team-high 24 digs in addition to her 12
kills. Junior outside hitter Dana Mullenhard recorded a match-best
.381 hitting percentage, adding 11 kills to the Fords relentless
offensive attack. Junior defensive specialist Jordan Thompson and
sophomore libero Lisa Perkins helped pace the Ford defense, collecting
15 and 14 digs, respectively.
As a team, the Fords put together a .239 hitting percentage compared
to the Lady Warriors .073. Lycoming was led by Lindsey Arts and
Cassandra Kapson, who each registered 13 kills on the afternoon.
This afternoon's victory is the first outright NCAA postseason victory
any Haverford athletics team has had since the men's soccer team
defeated Elizabethtown, 4-3, on November 8, 1980. In 2005, the Haverford
women's soccer team tied Arcadia, 0-0, and advanced to the second
round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament on penalty
kicks.
With the win, Haverford advances to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Semifinals
and will take on second-seeded Gallaudet on Friday at 4:30 p.m..
Gallaudet (29-9) defeated seventh-seeded Penn State-Altoona, 3-0
(30-16, 30-11, 30-22) in the first Quarterfinal match Thursday afternoon.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since Galluadet
defeated Haverford, 3-0, on October 1, 1999. The Fords will be riding
a season-long nine match winning streak into the Semifinal match.
