Crimson Struggles In Texas Road Trip

A weekend road trip to Texas provided no opportunity to rest for Harvard’s women’s volleyball team.

Taking part in the Mizuno Invitational II at Rice University, Harvard (2-5) faced unyielding competition from South Carolina, Rice, and No. 23 Wichita State. The Crimson fell in each of the three contests, typically by slim margins in set-play.

“The way that we played in some of those games was an affirmation that we can play with the best of the best,” sophomore Sandra Lynn Fryhofer said.

Fryhofer posted impressive individual numbers in the Lone Star State, including a .458 attack against South Carolina—a personal record. The sophomore notched 28 kills over the weekend as well as five of the Crimson’s 14 blocks. At the conclusion of the tournament, Fryhofer was named to the all-tournament team.

“Sandra Lynn is a really fast middle blocker,” senior Lily Durwood said. “She can find a kill even when it looks like there’s none to be found.”

SOUTH CAROLINA 3, HARVARD 1

Lining up against the Gamecocks (8-1), the Crimson won its first set of the weekend and came close to grabbing two others with sets of 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12. Although Harvard held substantial leads at various points throughout the match, the Gamecocks ultimately emerged the better team with a dominant performance in the fourth set.

The challenge of playing the SEC team was clear to Durwood.

“It’s a much faster pace of the game,” Durwood said. “We dug harder hit balls and played against bigger blockers. We’re playing at a higher level, I think. When we get back to our conference, we’ll be able to maintain that high level.”

Excluding the final frame, in which South Carolina landed 16 kills while committing only one error, the two teams put forth similar offensive clips–the Crimson registered a .212 attack, compared to the Gamecocks’ .247

On defense, Harvard put forth a season-high nine blocks, relative to five from its opponent.

Durwood dished out 37 assists and three kills, and sophomore libero Christine Wu made 26 digs.

RICE 3, HARVARD 0

The Crimson kept pace with the Owls (8-3) early on in the match and had the potential to take the first set with the score tied at 21. A pair of kills gave the Owls the lead, and although sophomore Anne Carroll Ingersoll responded with an attack of her own, Rice would not relinquish its advantage. The Owls’ Tracey Lam closed out the first set with an ace.

A similar trend characterized the second set, with Rice breaking away late once again. Freshman Taylor Docter tallied three kills, and sophomore Christine Wu contributed an ace.

The Crimson ran out of steam in the final set, allowing Rice to jump to a 6-0 lead out of the gate. The Owls utilized the early momentum to generate a 20-8 lead, and although Ingersoll, Fryhofer, and Wu spurred on a 4-0 run, Rice’s Ashleigh McCord put an end to any hopes of a comeback with back-to-back kills. The Owls eventually took the set, 25-15.

No. 23 WICHITA STATE 3, HARVARD 0

The weekend’s opening match with Wichita State (9-1) provided the Crimson with the season’s first glimpse of the big leagues. The site was intimidating.

“Ivy League play is competitive, and there are some good hitters,” Fryhofer said. “But traditionally [Wichita State] has taller girls on their team and their defense is really scrappy. It puts the line on us, too. If we don’t take the opportunity to finish that point, then they’ll crush it down our throat.”

Harvard’s encounter with Wichita State began and ended in a similar fashion.

The Shockers threw out the initial ace on its first serve before sealing the deal with another two at the end of the third set.

Wichita State’s serving skills plagued the Crimson all night—the Shockers tallied fourteen points on aces alone. Serving also hindered Wichita State, however, as the team’s 14 aces were nearly offset by 11 service errors.

The Shockers were far from perfect while serving—the team’s 14 aces were accompanied by 11 service errors—but these faults were negligible. Relative to Harvard’s -.048 attack clip, Wichita State dominated on offense and hit .479 with 38 kills. Shocker Sarah McGee went into an offensive frenzy, knocking down 11 kills while generating an astounding .714 attack percentage. Wichita State posted nine blocks and refused to give one up to Crimson. Overcoming Harvard’s defense, the Shockers enabled themselves to go on numerous runs including an 8-0 streak towards the beginning of the final set.

“It was a formative weekend for us,” Durwood said. “We faced adversity and had chances to come together to figure what was going wrong.”

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.