Struggling W. Volleyball Drops Ivy Opener to Dartmouth

Playing its fifth straight match on the road, the Harvard women’s volleyball team hit some major bumps this weekend, dropping matches to Maine and Ivy foe Dartmouth at the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover, N.H.

In its Ivy League season opener, the defending champion Crimson (2-6) hit a new low. Its 3-0 loss to the Big Green on Saturday was the first Dartmouth sweep in the league rivals’ history.

“[Dartmouth] just came ready to win,” co-captain Sarah Cebron said. “We were playing not to lose—it was just bad.”

After capturing the New England Challenge title to kick off the season, Harvard has been in a rut. The Crimson has dropped five straight matches and has won only three total games in that stretch.

“When you lose that many matches in a row, it’s hard not to get discouraged,” co-captain Liz Blotky said. “We need some sort of inspiration to get back to where we were that first weekend.

“Luckily, it’s pretty early in the season. I have confidence in my teammates and in our program.”

Sophomore outside hitter Laura Mahon (22 kills, 19 digs) and junior middle hitter Katie Turley-Molony (17 kills) were selected to the all-tournament team. It was the second all-tournament nod of the season for Mahon, who also received the honor at the New England Challenge.

MAINE 3, HARVARD 1

Just half a day removed from its embarrassing loss to the Big Green, Harvard came out strong but quickly ran out of gas, dropping a 3-1 (23-30, 30-28, 30-20, 30-26) decision to the Black Bears Saturday afternoon.

In a situation eerily reminiscent of its season opener against Boston College, the Crimson came within two points of taking a 2-0 match lead against Maine (3-7) before losing the second frame and, subsequently, the contest.

“We came out very aggressive,” Blotky said. “Even though we ended up losing the second game, we didn’t feel like we lost. We felt in control of the match.”

With the Black Bears registering 11 attack errors in game two, it seemed as if Harvard would coast through the frame. Instead, the Crimson matched Maine’s poor attack, hitting only .152.

Nevertheless, Harvard moved ahead 28-27 and had a chance to secure a two-game lead. But the Black Bears rallied for three straight points, capturing the second frame 30-28 and setting the stage for the Crimson’s ensuing demise.

“Our offense had started to come back to life,” Cebron said. “But they got runs of points, and that set us back.”

As the match began, Harvard showed no signs of the lackluster performance that had plagued the team the night before. Hitting .333, the Crimson streaked to a 30-23 game one victory.

But Harvard’s offensive problems returned in the third and fourth frames. Hitting .128 and .156 in the two games, respectively, the Crimson found itself unable to mount a consistent attack.

Thus Maine, despite playing at a mediocre level itself, took control of the contest and won both frames, extending Harvard’s losing streak to five matches.

“It’s a huge bummer,” Cebron said. “Everyone is really sick of losing. But I think that energy will be channeled into good practices.”

DARTMOUTH 3, HARVARD 0

This was not how Harvard envisioned its Ivy League opener.

Rather than coming out dominant, the Crimson was dominated Friday night, falling 3-0 (30-22, 30-22, 30-28) in a shocking sweep and losing to Dartmouth for the first time since 2001.

“It came down to us being tentative,” Blotky said. “There was a lack of aggression on our part.”

Though Harvard limited its service errors—a problem that haunted the Crimson on Wednesday against Northeastern—the Big Green (6-3) took advantage of the weaker serves to set up its attack.

“We really needed to serve tougher,” Cebron said. “We were too defensive.”

After succumbing easily in the first two frames, Harvard had a chance to make a comeback in the third game of the match.

In a sloppy frame that featured 16 attack errors, the score stayed tight throughout. The teams traded points, forcing 16 ties and seven lead changes.

The Crimson finally went on a mini-run to move ahead 28-25. But Dartmouth fired off five straight points to clinch the game and complete its sweep.

“When the score is that tight, it’s important to be fearless and go for every ball hard,” Blotky said. “But we were afraid of swinging and missing. Maybe it’s partly because we’re a young team.”

The Big Green offense started the match on fire. Hitting a whopping .412, Dartmouth decimated Harvard’s defense and led for most of the first frame en route to a 30-22 victory.

Though the Big Green attack cooled down in the second game, it took advantage of the Crimson’ inconsistent hitting to stay ahead by a small margin.

Harvard fought back to tie the frame at 20, but Dartmouth went on a 10-2 run to close out the game, 30-22, and set itself up for the sweep.

Fortunately for the Crimson, it will have a chance at redemption when the Big Green travels to Cambridge this Friday.

“I’m ready for a rematch,” Blotky said. “We did not show [Dartmouth] who we are at all. They better be ready for a completely different team.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.