W. Volleyball Wins Classic

By DANIEL M. SIROTKIN

Contributing Writer

The women’s volleyball team won the Crimson Classic this weekend at the Malkin Athletic Center, snagging its second tournament win of the fall season.

The tournament featured Harvard, Dartmouth, Binghamton and Georgia State.

The Crimson entered the weekend with a 4-2 record and faced off against the Big Green Friday night in Harvard’s first taste of Ivy League play this season. Dartmouth handed Harvard its second loss in a row, as the Big Green dropped the Crimson in four games.

Junior Andrea Sea led the Big Green with 18 kills, and captain and All-Tournament selection Ashley Dean earned an impressive double-double as she nailed 17 kills and had 22 digs. Dartmouth’s defense was led by sophomore standout Chelsea Morgan, who picked up 21 digs, 52 assists and 10 kills to round out her triple double.

Dartmouth made 11 blocks, whereas Harvard was able to find only four.

“Dartmouth played spectacular defense, ” said Harvard Coach Jennifer Weiss.

Besides Dartmouth’s stingy play at the net, the Crimson also loooked hesistant in the tournament’s early action.

“We might’ve been a little nervous in the first game, [we were] still getting the kinks out,” said junior co-captain Mindy Jellin.

But the Crimson didn’t go down without a brawl. Captain Erin Denniston smashing a match-high 22 kills, while freshman Pernilla Schweitzer added 16 kills and 13 digs.

Harvard’s offense was once again anchored around Jellin, who had 60 assists and 13 digs.

Freshmen sensation Kaego Ogbechie cooled down somewhat with 15 kills and 11 assists, a step back from her previously spectacular 3.76 kills per game average. However, Ogbechie returned on Saturday to help lead Harvard to its two consecutive victories and the eventual tournament win.

Georgia State entered Saturday’s match with the Crimson on an 11 game winning streak. On entering the tournement, the Panthers had been led by Ruissian import senior Anna Popenko who was averaging 3.59 kills per game. She was followed closely by sophomore Molly Sapp with 3.32 kills and junior Randi Van Dam with 3.03 kills.

The Crimson shocked Georgia State by bouncing it out of tournament contention with a 3-1 win. Ogbechie racked up 19 kills, nine digs and five blocks while Denniston swung for 17 kills and seven blocks. Schweitzer contributed 13 kills and 14 digs.

Junior Nicole Meunier had a breakout game for the Crimson, posting a tournement high .411 hitting percentage while blasting 16 kills and saving 12 digs.

With its win over Georgia State, the Crimson was able to make a marked turnaround from Friday night.

“We worked a lot better as a team” Ogbechie said. “We took it one point at a time and played with more integrity.”

“We seemed to have a relaxed confidence [against Geogia State],” Weiss said.

On Saturday night, the Crimson closed out its tournament win with a four game dismanteling of the Binghamton Colonials. Schweitzer blew out the Colonials defense with a silly 22 kills and a game high .405 hitting percentage, and Ogbechie used her athletisicm to dive, elbow and lunge for a tournament-high 22 digs. Both women were named to the All-Tournament Team. Schweitzer was named the tournament’s MVP after recording 61 kills and 38 digs.

Ogbechie credited the Crimson’s turnaround to the mental aspect of Harvard’s game.

“Instead of letting the physical elements take over we pushed mentally,” Ogbechie said. “Rather than worying about how tired we were or injuries we just played 100 percent.”

Harvard will have a chance to avenge its loss to the Big Green when it travels to Dartmouth this Friday, and it is a chance it cannot afford to take lightly.

“We know what we need to work on to compete with them on Friday,” Weiss said.