After Ivy Stumble, Women's Volleyball Recovers for Two Wins

The women’s volleyball team won two out of three matches this weekend as it played host to the Crimson Classic at Lavietes Pavilion, defeating Hartford and NJIT Saturday after falling to Dartmouth Friday night.

The 3-0 (30-22, 30-22, 30-23) loss to Dartmouth in front of an energetic home crowd starts the Crimson off at 0-1 in the Ivy League and means that the squad will have to play catch-up if it is to realize its goal of a conference title.

The team hopes that the pair of wins Harvard picked up Saturday—3-1 (30-22, 30-23, 26-30, 30-9) over Hartford and 3-1 (27-30, 30-24, 30-24, 30-23) over NJIT—will help it establish the momentum necessary to get its Ivy League season back on track when the Crimson faces the Big Green again next Friday in Hanover, N.H.

“The first Ivy match didn’t go our way,” coach Jennifer Weiss said on Saturday, “but today was very important for us to make a statement. Everyone was very excited to have another opportunity this afternoon to be better and to prepare for next Friday up at Dartmouth.”

HARVARD 3, NJIT 1

The Crimson closed out the weekend on a high note, improving its hitting percentage in each game and beating the Highlanders in four. The visitors were able to take the first game, 30-27, but Harvard righted itself quickly and was in control from there on out.

Senior Laura Mahon led the team with 20 kills and a .321 hitting percentage, and senior Lauren Las added 11 kills on 21 attempts in her second appearance of the year.

Las, who is returning from injury, was praised by her coach for her contributions this weekend.

“She did a great job,” Weiss said. “She had an injury in preseason, but she’s been working hard, and she did exactly what she needed to do.”

Weiss is not the only one who noticed Las’ play. Las was named to the all-tournament team, along with senior Mimi Hanley.

The Crimson finished the match hitting .175 and was able to hold NJIT to a dismal .047 hitting percentage.

A large part of the defensive effort was the effectiveness of the Harvard block. The Crimson stuffed the Highlanders 12.5 times.

HARVARD 3, HARTFORD 1

Simplicity was the focus on Saturday afternoon, as the Crimson looked to rebound from the loss to Dartmouth the night before.

Weiss said her team took a “back-to-basics” approach.

“We were over-thinking or over-trying on some simple things, like the pass,” she said, “so the goal coming in was to really focus on the simplicity of the game. We want to run it high on the outside and quick in the middle. And we did that—we did a good job.”

Captain Suzie Trimble thought that her team took a more relaxed approach to the Saturday afternoon match compared to the intense atmosphere of the Dartmouth match the night before.

“I think a lot of people felt the pressure,” she said, “and we tried not to put any pressure on ourselves [against Hartford].”

Whatever the team did, it worked. The Crimson hit a solid .248 for the match while holding the Hawks to .053 and stifled the Hartford attack with a brutally effective block.

The block was especially impressive considering the difficulty Harvard had against Dartmouth in establishing pressure at the net.

“Sometimes the opponent’s setter makes a big difference,” Weiss said. “Katie [Hirsch], the setter on Dartmouth, has a more deceptive release, so those blockers really have to watch her first, and then watch the hitter. We got a good read on [the Hartford] setter.”

Trimble led the Crimson attack with 13 kills on 23 attempts, and sophomore libero Katherine Kocurek finished with a team-high 14 digs.

DARTMOUTH 3, HARVARD 0

Over 700 people crowded Lavietes Pavilion Friday night to witness the Crimson’s Ivy League opener, providing an atmosphere unmatched this season.

The opening game was marked by high energy on both sides but noticeable confusion on the Harvard attack, as setters and strikers did not always appear to be on the same page. As a result, the Crimson trailed for most of the first game, always within shouting distance of the Big Green but never in control.

The most exciting moment of the weekend came in the first game with Harvard trailing by a score of 25-19. A string of aggressive kill attempts and nearly miraculous digs and subsequent returns by both teams built upon one another for what seemed to be a span of nearly an entire minute. The crowd grew louder and louder as the disbelief of each successive play was topped only by that which followed it. Dartmouth finally put the point away with a laser-like shot that just barely split the diving, outstretched arms of Kocurek and junior Katherine McKinley.

It was a deflating moment for the Crimson, and Dartmouth did not look back. Although the two teams were close in most statistical categories, the Big Green simply appeared to have the momentum on its side for the majority of the game.

“Dartmouth played very well,” Weiss said. “They didn’t make very many mistakes, and we made some key mistakes...If any volleyball player goes back to basics and looks at the simple things, they might eliminate some of those unforced errors.”

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