Volleyball Rolls Over Holy Cross at Home

Sometimes you just have to bring out the big guns.

Down 18-10 in the third frame of its contest against Holy Cross, the Harvard women’s volleyball (4-7) team needed a serious boost to regain its momentum and avoid dropping its second frame in a row.

Enter sophomore Anne Carroll Ingersoll.

The 6’2” outside hitter walked onto the court of the Malkin Athletic Center for the first time in the game and immediately dropped two kills. From there, Ingersoll helped catalyze a crescendo in her team’s play that eventually put the Crimson over Holy Cross (1-12) in overtime, 27-25.

Harvard went on to close the fourth set in decisive fashion, winning the final game of its preseason schedule with the start of Ivy League competition looming this weekend.

“It’s a good feeling to take into Friday,” Ingersoll said.

Harvard’s performance was not as convincing out of the gate, however, and seemed uncoordinated on the attack. The two teams traded points early on, keeping close until the Crusaders used a kill from offensive maestro Megan Lynch to take a 10-7 lead.

Soon thereafter, sophomore Sandra Lynn Fryhofer generated renewed life for the Crimson, letting loose a devastating kill before tossing out back-to-back service aces to tie the score at 11.

Several plays later, co-captain Chelsea Ono Horn saved a monstrous strike from becoming a kill, eventually allowing the Crimson to take a 13-12 lead. With the previous coordination problems resolved, senior Lily Durwood deftly put up a ball that senior Alissa Flesher knocked to the Holy Cross court without contention to close the set out at 25-19.

Flesher, who notched 12 kills throughout the game, was one of four Harvard players who racked up double-digit kills.

The Crimson returned to the court in the second set with all cylinders still firing, carrying over the previous frame’s momentum to jump out to an early lead.

Junior Mikaelle Comrie accounted for a large chunk of Harvard’s offense throughout the night, leading the Crimson with 13 kills–most of which hit the ground before the Crusaders could react.

Although Holy Cross spent much of the second frame in a deficit, the Crusaders crept up down the stretch and eventually forced a tie at 24-24. Harvard went up on the ensuing point, but Holy Cross utilized a 3-0 run to take the set.

“We didn’t necessary play in our system towards the end of the game,” Comrie said. “I think that was to our detriment.”

The third frame emulated the predecessor in every way–save for a role reversal.

The Crusaders held a significant lead throughout most of the frame and looked poised to take the set easily.

The Crimson offense that had congealed well during the previous set continued its downward trend to start the third frame; the women’s squad committed nine errors throughout the set. However, it was Harvard’s turn for a comeback once Ingersoll–who had been sick lately–took the court.

“It’s nerve-wracking to be on the bench,” Ingersoll said. “You warm up, but then you get cold and you’re thinking, ‘Oh no what if I biff it?’ It’s all or nothing.”

There would be no biffing for Ingersoll, however. In just 1.5 sets, the sophomore racked up 11 kills and a .714 hitting percentage.

With its top offensive weapon back in play, the Crimson won eight of the next 10 points. Harvard soon pulled to 24-23, emulating the Crusaders’ work the previous set.

“Everyone just realized at that point that we weren’t going to have a repeat of the second game, and we really needed to finish it,” Comrie said.

At 24-23, Ingersoll applied two critical kills to give the Crimson the advantage before freshman Taylor Docter ended it with a kill of her own at 27-25.

In the fourth, Harvard relied on the power of Comrie’s blasts to keep its offensive tempo up while Holy Cross pestered the Crimson early on with misleading drop shots. Harvard mustered its way to a 14-10 lead as the Crusaders lost composure. Gaining momentum, the Crimson pumped up its advantage to 19-13 off of two consecutive, well-placed Ingersoll kills.

With the score at 22-14, the stage was set for more dramatics. This time, though, there would be no epic comeback. The final set of the game finished in mundane fashion, with a Wu serve resulting in a Holy Cross attack error to close out the set at 25-15.