Women's Volleyball Drops Deuce to League Foes

It was not the same this year for the Harvard women's volleyball team.

Last year, in the final Ivy weekend with a chance to earn the regular season conference title, the Crimson (7-17, 4-3 Ivy) came through, defeating Yale and Brown to go 7-o in the Ancient Eight. HARVARD<  1 YALE  3 HARVARD  0 BROWN  3

Last weekend, with a 4-1 conference record and the same Possibility of winning the regular-season title, Harvard again faced Yale and Brown.

The result: two tough road losses. The first was a 15-8, 10-15, 15-8, 15-12 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday and the second a 15-10, 16-14, 15-12 defeat at the hands of the Bears on Saturday.

"They were heartbreakers," senior outside hitter Anne Schafer said. "They weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just consistent."

The Crimson, still playing without Katherine Hart and Angela Lutich, two mainstays on the front line out with injuries, managed just a .106 hitting percentage on the match.

The good news for the Crimson was that Linda Jellison, a junior outside hitter, has recovered from a severely sprained ankle to re-enter the Harvard lineup.

Yale 3, Harvard 1

In a battle in New Haven that lasted almost two hours, Harvard ultimately came up empty-handed.

"The first game started out great," Schafer said.

The Crimson stormed out to seven points while allowing just a handful of Bulldog points.

Then freshman hitter Erin Denniston went down with an injury, causing the Crimson players to lose their concentration, squandering the lead and ultimately losing 15-8.

"We were very concerned with her and we kind of lost focus," Schafer said. "It just really slipped out of our hands."

In the second game, Harvard came out strong and stayed strong to win 15-10.

"Basically, in the third and fourth games," Schafer said, "we were pushing each other, but we came up short. They established a tough block."

The third game ended with a 15-8 score in Yale's favor as Harvard could manage only seven kills on 34 attempts with six errors.

The final game was close, 15-12, but ended Harvard's hope for victory and the regular-season title.

While Yale had four players with double figures in kills, just two Crimson hitters managed more than ten kills. Co-captain Melissa Forcum finished with 14 and junior outside hitter Kristen Schaeffer added 11.

Kate Nash contributed 34 assists and three service aces.

Brown 3, Harvard 0

The Crimson played well, but could not slay the Bears in Providence on Saturday.

"We played very, very close, Pushing point by point," Schafer said. "They were just able to keep Putting the ball back at us."

Harvard pushed for many points, but could not take a game as Brown won 15-10, 16-14, 15-12 in just over an hour and a half.

"The atmosphere was less threatening [than at Yale]," Schafer said. "There was a lot of communication."

Forcum led the way for the Crimson with 18 kills, and Jellison and Schafer chipped in with 12 apiece.

Nash assisted on 44 points and Jellison had 17 digs. Jellison and senior Catherine Betti each had two service aces.

Brown's Tomo Nakanishi finished with a match-high 21 kills, thanks to her tough play at the net.

"She hits very smart, and she hits high," Schafer said. "Our defense was trying to pick it up."

The Crimson hopes to pick things up this week at Northeastern and then over the weekend in the Harvard Invitational. The following weekend is the Ivy League tournament at Brown. The league championship will be decided there with the winner going on to the NCAA Tournament.

"Our goal of winning the league is there for us," Schafer said. "We will have something to prove, but so will all the other teams."

Last weekend, with a 4-1 conference record and the same Possibility of winning the regular-season title, Harvard again faced Yale and Brown.

The result: two tough road losses. The first was a 15-8, 10-15, 15-8, 15-12 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday and the second a 15-10, 16-14, 15-12 defeat at the hands of the Bears on Saturday.

"They were heartbreakers," senior outside hitter Anne Schafer said. "They weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just consistent."

The Crimson, still playing without Katherine Hart and Angela Lutich, two mainstays on the front line out with injuries, managed just a .106 hitting percentage on the match.

The good news for the Crimson was that Linda Jellison, a junior outside hitter, has recovered from a severely sprained ankle to re-enter the Harvard lineup.

Yale 3, Harvard 1

In a battle in New Haven that lasted almost two hours, Harvard ultimately came up empty-handed.

"The first game started out great," Schafer said.

The Crimson stormed out to seven points while allowing just a handful of Bulldog points.

Then freshman hitter Erin Denniston went down with an injury, causing the Crimson players to lose their concentration, squandering the lead and ultimately losing 15-8.

"We were very concerned with her and we kind of lost focus," Schafer said. "It just really slipped out of our hands."

In the second game, Harvard came out strong and stayed strong to win 15-10.

"Basically, in the third and fourth games," Schafer said, "we were pushing each other, but we came up short. They established a tough block."

The third game ended with a 15-8 score in Yale's favor as Harvard could manage only seven kills on 34 attempts with six errors.

The final game was close, 15-12, but ended Harvard's hope for victory and the regular-season title.

While Yale had four players with double figures in kills, just two Crimson hitters managed more than ten kills. Co-captain Melissa Forcum finished with 14 and junior outside hitter Kristen Schaeffer added 11.

Kate Nash contributed 34 assists and three service aces.

Brown 3, Harvard 0

The Crimson played well, but could not slay the Bears in Providence on Saturday.

"We played very, very close, Pushing point by point," Schafer said. "They were just able to keep Putting the ball back at us."

Harvard pushed for many points, but could not take a game as Brown won 15-10, 16-14, 15-12 in just over an hour and a half.

"The atmosphere was less threatening [than at Yale]," Schafer said. "There was a lot of communication."

Forcum led the way for the Crimson with 18 kills, and Jellison and Schafer chipped in with 12 apiece.

Nash assisted on 44 points and Jellison had 17 digs. Jellison and senior Catherine Betti each had two service aces.

Brown's Tomo Nakanishi finished with a match-high 21 kills, thanks to her tough play at the net.

"She hits very smart, and she hits high," Schafer said. "Our defense was trying to pick it up."

The Crimson hopes to pick things up this week at Northeastern and then over the weekend in the Harvard Invitational. The following weekend is the Ivy League tournament at Brown. The league championship will be decided there with the winner going on to the NCAA Tournament.

"Our goal of winning the league is there for us," Schafer said. "We will have something to prove, but so will all the other teams."