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re: "...There are two bolts on the bumper near the ball hitch that I removed...."
If I'm reading your phrase as you meant it to be read, then I'm afraid that it doesn't sound like a Volvo-brand hitch -- it sounds like some cheap knockoff. None of the Volvo brand hitches ever had (nor should any reputable hitch maker have) bolts attaching the hitch to the bumper. The bumper is not meant to support, even partly, the load of up to the 3,300 lbs that the car can tow.
All of the Volvo hitches were solely attached, at the sides [never in the middle "near the ball hitch" as you wrote] on the longitudinal "quasi-frame" (since it's a unibody :-) rails adjacent to the spare tire wells in the rear fenders. The ends of the hitch had a plate, [if I recall correctly] held usually by one or two modest bolts in the frame rail plus one additional vertical, massive bolt through the forward end of the bumper "shock" (inside the frame) running from inside the trunk to the underside of the frame.
Unfortunately, I've seen quite a few (what I'll call "K-Mart no-brand" hitches) that bolt to the bumper to provide some support to an otherwise flimsy frame.
If that hitch is as I think (and described), rather than a Volvo hitch, I'd recommend using it only for the very lightest loads. Be careful.
And please pardon me if I misinterpreted your description.
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