Haverford, Pa. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland volleyball team split its opening matches at the 24th Annual Haverford College Invitational Friday evening, dropping a 3-1 decision to No. 24 Haverford and rebounding with a sweep of Susquehanna University. 

No. 24 Haverford 3, St. Mary's 1 (Box Score)
Rebecca Salvo dominated the offensive tempo for Haverford (2-0) as she threw down 23 kills and denied 15 Seahawk attacks.  Her sister, Rachel, and Kelsey Cantwell each added 10 kills and a combined 21 digs in helping the Fords win 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 25-19).

Haverford opened up the first set with a 6-1 run; however, St. Mary's (0-2) quickly erased the deficit to come within 12-10.  The Fords built back their lead to 18-11 before an 11-4 run capped by junior outside hitter Claire Kodan's (Olney, Md./Sherwood) block knotted the set for the first and only time at 22-22.  Ra. Salvo finished out the set for the 25-22 win.

The next set featured four ties and two lead changes.  St. Mary's gained control early and only trailed three times.  After a 10-10 draw, the Seahawks broke open the set with a 6-0 spurt that the Fords could not surmount.  SMCM received five kills from sophomore right side Shannon Fitzpatrick (Germantown, Md./St. John's College [D.C]), four from Kodan and three from senior middle blocker Jen Lamar (Collegeville, Pa./Spring-Ford).

The Seahawks looked to be on their way to a second straight set win over the No. 24 Fords with a 4-0 start, including two service aces from Kodan and a block solo from Lamar.  However, Haverford regained control with a 13-6 run and never looked back en route to a 25-17 victory.

After an 11-11 tie in the fourth and final set, the Fords pulled away with a 10-3 run to tally a 25-19 win.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Gregorini (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) and Kodan paced the Seahawks with identical box score lines of 10 kills, 12 digs, and two service aces.  Junior setter Katie Obal (Olney, Md./Sherwood) dished out 35 assists for the second straight match, while chipping nine digs. 

St.Mary's 3, Susquehanna 0 (Box Score)
Sophomore middle blocker Gena Hlavinka (Gaithersburg, Md./T.S. Wootton), Kodan and Lamar helped the Seahawks (1-2) rebound with a 3-0 shutout of Susquehanna (0-3) later in the evening as the trio combined for 18 kills and 11 total blocks.  Kodan had six kills, 15 digs, one block solo and four block assists, while Lamar added six kills and four block assists.  Hlavinka chipped in six kills, one block solo and one block assist.  Obal tallied 18 assists, while freshman libero Cecilia Blanc (Laytonsville, Md./Poolesville) had 13 digs and Gregorini notched a dozen.

The Seahawks will continue action at the Haverford Invitational tomorrow, taking on Widener University at 11:00 am and Stevens Institute of Technology at 1:00.