Durham Trip Results In a Win, Two Losses

The Harvard women’s volleyball team had a tough weekend in Durham, N.H., where it traveled for the Holly Young Invitational tournament. The Crimson (3-7) faced solid competition in Arizona State, New Hampshire, and Wyoming. Harvard was only able to come away with one victory in the tournament with its 3-1 defeat of New Hampshire.

WYOMING 3, HARVARD 1

The final match of the tournament proved to be a real battle between the Crimson and the Cowboys (8-5). Harvard started off strong in a competitive first set, winning 25-20, but the Cowboys rallied to win the final three sets 25-21, 25-23, 26-24. Throughout the match, there were 17 ties and eight lead changes.

Senior Lily Durwood led the way with 46 assists, nine digs, and four blocks. Durwood played well throughout the tournament, earning a spot on the all-tournament team.

“Lily plays setter for us, which is a position with a natural role of leadership,” co-captain Chelsea Ono Horn said. “She always saves us and she fills that role naturally.”

Freshman Taylor Docter also put forth competitive efforts, setting her first collegiate double-double with 37 kills and 10 digs. “We really made a note to take care of simple technique things to prepare us very well for this tournament,” Docter said.

Junior Mikaelle Comrie and sophomore Sandra Lynne Fryhofer also provided 13 and 11 strikes, respectively. Sophomore Christine Wu led all players defensively with 24 digs, while senior Alissa Flescher contributed eight kills and five blocks.

HARVARD 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1

In its first match on Saturday, the Crimson put forth a dominant effort against the Wildcats (4-9) to end a six-game losing streak. Comrie set the offensive tempo for the day, leading all players with 13 kills. Docter also had a big game offensively with 12 kills. UNH kept it close in the first set at 25-21 and won the second set 25-23 but the Crimson kept its momentum up and wiped out the Wildcats in the last two frames, 25-15, 25-18.

“We’ve gone into every single game with the mindset that we’re going to win...New Hampshire has always been a good matchup for us,” Ono Horn said.

Working off of each other, the women’s squad coalesced to produce a multi-faceted offense. Six Harvard players hit over .200, and the team combined for a clip of .221. Wu led all players with 21 digs and was complimented by Durwood, who was second on the team with 10 digs and 39 assists. Defensively, both Ono Horn and Fryhofer contributed four blocks.

“[Ono Horn] and [Durwood] are so supportive,” Docter said. “They’re so competitive—they’ll hold you accountable for working hard and playing your best. They’re both such great leaders.”

As a team, the Crimson out-defended UNH, positng six blocks compared to the Wildcats’ one. Harvard also recorded 52 kills to the Wildcats’ 39 and 63 digs to the Wildcats’ 55.

ARIZONA STATE 3, HARVARD 0

In its first match of the weekend against Arizona State (10-2), the Crimson was unable to keep up with the Sun Devils. Harvard lost all three sets with scores of 25-16, 25-16, 25-7.

The Crimson started out strong in the first set, keeping even with Arizona for the first several rounds of play. With the score at 12-10, Sun Devil Sarah Reaves delivered a kill that began a cascade of Arizona scoring. The Crimson could not match the pace, as the Sun Devils utilized 3-0 and 4-0 run to take a commanding lead. Harvard kept it close in the second set, with the score at 11-9 when a kill by Sun Devil Sofie Schlagintweit helped Arizona pull away to win the frame.

Fryhofer led the Crimson’s offensive front with eight kills in the match, along with a .350 hitting percentage. Comrie also contributed with seven kills of her own. Togehter, Fryhofer and Comrie had more kills than the rest of the team combined.

Wu carried Harvard defensively with 18 digs, and Ono Horn added nine of her own along with two blocks.