W. Volleyball Tries for NCAA Berth in Ivy Tournament

Ivy League championship? Check.

Huge win against Penn? Check.

An important match against Yale on Saturday? Big fat check.

Though this checklist almost certainly inspires thoughts of the 121st edition of The Game, there’s another team out there that will be battling the Bulldogs this weekend as well.

The Harvard women’s volleyball team will face Yale Saturday at 4 p.m. in Union’s Viniar Athletic Center in the first round of a single-elimination playoff. The winner of the playoff will determine the recipient of the Ivy League’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.

“[An NCAA berth] means that we get to fight for a championship,” co-captain Kaego Ogbechie said. “No matter how far out of reach it may seem, it’s still a possibility.”

Thrilling weekend? Check.

NCAA tournament berth? To be determined.

THE SETUP

On Wednesday, Princeton swept the Quakers 3-0 and the Bulldogs outlasted a rally by Brown to escape 3-2. Their wins left them with 10-4 league records and in a four-way tie for first place with the Crimson and Cornell—who had clinched a share of the title last Saturday with sweeps of Penn and the Bears, respectively.

Although all four teams are recognized as Ivy champions—a feat never previously seen in 27 years of league play—there is only one automatic NCAA tournament berth available. As a result, a playoff between the co-champions will determine which team moves on to the national tournament.

Yale, the top seed, will be paired with the fourth-seeded Harvard squad while the second-seeded Tigers will face off against the No. 3 seed Big Red at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening.

The winners of those matches will then battle in the finals at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

THE OFFENSIVE BULLDOGS

Last time the Crimson played against the Bulldogs, it was defeated 3-0 in a shocking sweep in front of a rowdy J. Lee Amphitheater crowd—revenge for Harvard’s 3-0 October domination of Yale at the Malkin Athletic Center.

“It was tough to play them at Yale because they had a lot of fans that were really obnoxious,” said senior outside hitter Nilly Schweitzer.

The match in New Haven was largely an offensive battle, with both teams hitting above .200 for the entirety of the match. Four Bulldogs registered double-digit kills on the night, and the Crimson faltered against a high-powered offense.

For Harvard to succeed on Saturday, it will have to contain Yale’s two dominant outside hitters. Freshman Kali Nelson and senior Jana Freeman—who pestered the Crimson in their last matchup—had solid efforts against Brown on Wednesday, posting 26 and 20 kills, respectively, and they will pose a significant threat at the net this weekend.

“Both players are definitely very good,” Ogbechie said. “But regardless of the player, there’s always an opportunity for our blockers to shut them down—and that’s what our plan is.”

But the Bulldogs will have to defend against the Crimson’s ferocious attack as well. Harvard leads the league in team hitting percentage—due greatly to the contribution of Ogbechie, who is second in the league in individual hitting percentage.

“This time around, I think that [the winner is] going to be the team that wants to play the hardest,” Ogbechie said.

THE GAME, PART DEUX

When students and alumni file out of Harvard Stadium late Saturday afternoon, the volleyball squad will just be starting their pre-game warm-up.

Instead of settling down to several hours of food, drink, and mocking of the Yale faithful, the Crimson players will spend their afternoon preparing for one of the most important matches of their collegiate careers.

One thing’s for sure—they’re far from disappointed.

“It’s a tiny bit of a bummer,” Schweitzer said. “But there’s nothing I’d rather do than play and have a chance to go to the NCAA tournament.”

And don’t try to tell any volleyball players that they’ll be missing The Game. Because as far as they’re concerned, there is no bigger game than the one they’ll be playing.

“We have our own big game,” Ogbechie said. “We have our own Harvard-Yale.”