W. Volleyball Ends Campaign With Split

The women’s volleyball team wrapped up its season this weekend by splitting a pair of Ivy League home games at Lavieties Pavilion. The Crimson was victorious Friday against Columbia before letting a 2-0 lead slip away Saturday against Cornell.

Harvard (8-18) finishes the season in seventh place with a 3-11 league record, ahead of only winless Columbia. Princeton claimed the Ivy League title and capped off a perfect season with a 3-1 victory Saturday over Yale.

CORNELL 3, HARVARD 2

The Crimson looked poised to finish its season strong after getting out to a 2-0 lead over the Big Red (10-15, 6-8 Ivy), but the visitors from Ithaca played spoiler to Harvard’s plans by battling back and capturing the match, 3-2 (20-30, 28-30, 30-26, 30-28, 19-17) in an extended fifth game.

Seniors Suzie Trimble, Laura Mahon, and Mimi Hanley all had big days while wearing their Crimson uniforms for the last time. Trimble recorded 24 kills on 43 attempts with only three errors to post a dazzling .488 hitting percentage, while Mahon notched 22 kills and Hanley added 16 of her own.

Game one was all Harvard, as the Crimson got out to an early lead and did not relinquish it. Strong serving sustained Harvard down the stretch, with sophomore Lily Durwood recording three consecutive aces.

A sluggish start to the second game put the Crimson down 9-5 early, but a pair of Cornell errors got Harvard back into it quickly. The score stayed close from there on out, and the Crimson was able to overcome a late 27-25 deficit to capture the second game, 30-28.

At that point, Harvard was only one game away from a match victory. But Cornell came out sharp in the third game and led wire to wire in a sloppy fourth game to even the score at two games apiece.

The Big Red hit .091 in the game four, while Harvard hit an even lower .020.

“They pulled their passing together, which kept their offense in system,” Mahon said. “They are really good when they are in system.”

The first-to-15 fifth game was an exclamation point to an already wild match. The Crimson came back from a 11-5 deficit to take a 15-14 lead, one point away from escaping with a win.

But despite three match points for Harvard, Cornell battled back once again, taking the game and the match on a pair of Crimson attack errors.

Despite the loss, Trimble was happy with her last match.

“It was a fun way to go out,” she said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more—except a win.”

HARVARD 3, COLUMBIA 0

A focused Crimson squad was efficient and effective Friday night against Columbia (3-23, 0-14), sweeping the Lions, 3-0 (30-22, 30-20, 30-24).

Harvard out-hit the Lions in each game and never trailed.

Mahon led the charge with 21 kills on .378 hitting, while junior Kathryn McKinley added 11 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Katherine Kocurek led the defensive effort with 19 digs, and sophomore setter Lily Durwood distributed 44 assists.

The Crimson strung multiple four- and five-point runs throughout the first game to establish a dominant 27-12 lead, and while a subsequent Columbia run made it closer, Harvard was able to close out a 30-22 game one victory on a kill by sophomore Alissa Flesher.

Game two featured some of the most efficient hitting Harvard has displayed this year, as the team collectively hit a remarkable .395 with only four errors.

The Crimson cruised out to an early 9-0 lead in the third game but let the Lions back into it late. Harvard was forced to call a timeout with the score at 24-22, but a pair of kills by senior Lauren Las helped the Crimson finish the match off.

“Oftentimes, when we play a team, we play to their level,” Trimble said. “We did a good job of keeping a higher pace and playing at our own level and not letting their side affect us.”

—Staff writer Douglas A. Baerlein can be reached at baerlein@fas.harvard.edu.