Wildcat Comeback Stuns W. Volleyball

The Harvard women's volleyball team suffered a hard-fought, five-game loss (16-14, 15-9, 3-15, 6-15, 14-16) against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats last night at the Malkin Athletic Center. Despite a strong start by the Crimson (3-9, 0-0 Ivy League), the Wildcats (7-9, 0-0 America East) eventually wore down the Harvard defense and won the last three games. HARVARD  2 UNH  3

Coach Jennifer Weiss commended the "great game" of co-captain Kate Nash, who had 27 assists in the first game alone and 51 for the match. Freshman Erin Denniston continued to perform brilliantly, contributing 15 kills to the Crimson attack. Sophomore outside hitter Angela Lutich had 14 kills. For the Wildcats, outside hitter Jillian Ross had 24 kills, and setter Stacy Barnett chalked up 55 assists.

The Crimson held on to win the first game 16-14, due to the brilliant play of Nash and Lutich, who combined for nine kills. The Crimson led 11-5 early in the game, with Nash's assists and Denniston's seven kills combining to wear down the Wildcats' defense. The Wildcats bounced back to tie the game at 14, but a brilliant kill by senior co-captain Melissa Forcum clinched the first game for the Crimson, 16-14.

Early in the second game, the Crimson grabbed a 5-0 lead under strong serving by Lutich, and the Crimson front line energetically met the challenge of the Wildcats' blockers. Kills by the Crimson, especially a crucial kill by Denniston to force game-point, and strong blocking stifled the Wildcats whenever they threatened. With ten assists by Nash, the Crimson went on to win the second game 15-9.

Brilliant blocking by the Wildcats and defensive miscues by the Crimson characterized the third game. The Wildcats jumped ahead 11-0, and solid blocking, led by middle hitter Jennifer Walker, answered the Crimson's efforts. UNH went on to win the third game 15-3.

In the fourth game, the Wildcats jumped ahead to an early 9-1 lead. The Wildcats' Leisha Campbell and Ross combined for nine kills, allowing the Wildcats to win the game 15-6.

The Crimson roared back to life in the fifth game, with a crucial kill by Denniston giving them a 6-3 lead. Harvard extended its lead to 10-4 due to defensive mistakes by the Wildcats, but UNH soon rediscovered its fountain of youth. The Wildcats scored seven consecutive points until a net violation by UNH tied the game at 11. The game exchanged leads several times, until a kill by Walker gave the Wildcats a 15-14 lead, and they capitalized on their game-point opportunity by winning the fifth game, 16-14.

The win marks an upward swing for the Wildcats, who have won their last four contests.

The loss continues a disturbing trend that has plagued Harvard this season. Out of the Crimson's nine losses, it has forced five games but has not been able to win yet.

"We need to play at [our opponents] the entire time, and we need to concentrate on finishing the game and earning each point," Weiss said.

The Crimson was, however, able to begin strongly by winning the first two games and by fighting to win during the fifth game.

"I'm glad that we were the first to get to 5 [points], but what we need to do is to be the first ones at 10, at 15," Weiss said.

In previous losses, the Crimson fell behind early, but in this match, the Crimson jumped ahead by winning the first two games.

"It was another frustrating loss for us because we've been so close all year long. We didn't follow through with our efforts because we thought we had it after winning the first two games," Denniston said.

The Crimson's next contest is this weekend at the Northeastern Invitational.