CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Carleton College volleyball team kicked off its season on Friday afternoon, splitting a pair of matches at the Pacific Coast Classic. The Knights fell in four sets (21-25, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25) to host Pomona-Pitzer before defeating Western New England University in straight sets (25-19, 25-8, 25-19) at Voelkel Gymnasium.
Match 1 – Carleton 1, Pomona Pitzer 3
Carleton started its first match strong, jumping out to an early lead behind kills from senior
Rachel Bingham and first-year
Alexis Ormsby, coupled with a block by junior
Ellewyn Swafford and senior
Jennifer Bricker. The Sagehens responded with a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. Carleton later answered with a four-point surge of its own—highlighted by three kills from Bingham and another from Bricker—to spark a Pomona-Pitzer timeout at 19-17. An ace from senior
Megan Smith pulled the Knights within one at 20-19, but the Sagehens closed out the frame with four of the final five points to take the opening set 25-21.
The Sagehens carried momentum into the second set, using a 5-0 run to stretch an early edge to 12-5. Sophomore
Ella Goolsby provided scoring for Carleton, terminating kills to keep the Knights within reach. Carleton put together a 3-0 spurt behind a block from Swafford and Bricker and an attack error from the Sagehens to bring the score to 15-10, but back-to-back aces by Pomona-Pitzer libero Corrina Benson helped push the host team to a 19-10 lead and eventually a two-set lead.
Down 4-0 early in the third, the Knights displayed resilience. Bingham, Ormsby, and sophomore
Sami Torresin each delivered kills during a commanding 8-0 run that put Carleton ahead 10-5. Swafford became a force at the net, notching consecutive kills to lift the lead to 16-10. After Pomona-Pitzer cut the margin to three late in the frame (23-20), Swafford closed out the set with back-to-back kills to seal the 25-20 win and extend the match.
The fourth set was a battle of runs. After the Sagehens opened up an 12-5 lead, Carleton stormed back. Consecutive aces by Smith, followed by kills from
Abby Kvart and Bingham and another service ace from Bingham, came as a part of a 10-2 run and leveled the score at 16-16. Pomona-Pitzer responded with a critical 7-1 burst to reclaim a 23-17 advantage. Ormsby and Swafford notched late kills to stave off match point, but the Sagehens held on to claim the set and match.
Offensively, Carleton was led by
Rachel Bingham, who posted a team-high 16 kills, followed by
Alexis Ormsby with eight, and
Ellewyn Swafford with seven. Setter
Megan Smith paced the playmaking with 33 assists. On defense, junior
Madeleine Dimitre anchored the backline with a career-high 35 digs, supported by Smith with 16 to give her a double-double, and sophomore
Angelina Erhardt with 11. At the net, Swafford and
Ella Goolsby led the blocking effort. Swafford collected three block assists, while Goolsby put up a pair of solo blocks and an assist. Bingham and Smith also shared the team lead at the service line with three aces each.
Match 2 – Carleton 3, Western New England 0
Trailing 3-1 in the opening set, Goolsby notched a kill and Bingham followed with a service ace to jumpstart an 8-2 run for Carleton
to take a 9-5 lead. Later in the frame, with the Knights trailing 17-15, Carleton answered a Golden Bear 8-1 run with a 6-0 run of its own that was fueled by a pair of kills each from junior Abby Kvart and Alexis Ormsby alongside back-to-back block assists from Swafford and Kvart to move ahead 21-17. Swafford and Bingham closed out the set with late kills to secure the 25-19 win.
Carleton dominated the second set early on. Madeleine Dimitre served consecutive aces to cap a six-point spurt to extend the lead to 9-2 that eventually extended to 12-3. Sophomore Aditi Mukhirala continued the momentum behind the service line, landing an ace in her first collegiate action and sparking an 8-0 run highlighted by four kills from Swafford to push the cushion to 20-4. Sophomore Cleo Garten collected her first collegiate kill and block down the stretch to help seal a dominant 25-8 second-set victory.
The third set proved to be a tighter back-and-forth battle featuring nine tied scores and three lead changes. Western New England surged to a 15-12 advantage before Carleton responded with four straight points, including kills from Megan Smith and Bingham, to take a one-point lead (16-15). The Knights pulled ahead 20-18 late in the frame on an Ormsby strike before closing out the match scoring eight of the final 10 points, capped off by a pair of service aces from Mukhirala to claim the set 25-19 and complete the sweep.
Alexis Ormsby led the way for the Knights, posting a team-high 11 kills with a .688 hitting percentage. Ellewyn Swafford contributed 10 kills while hitting .667 and adding six block assists. Rachel Bingham added seven kills, 10 digs, and an ace, while setter Megan Smith directed the offense with 31 assists. Defensively, libero Madeleine Dimitre anchored the back row with 21 digs and three service aces, and Aditi Mukhirala added three service aces.
The Knights will be back in action tomorrow with two more matches on the season's opening weekend. Carleton will take on Chapman University at noon central time in La Verne, California before finishing the weekend against Occidental College at 5pm central.
