Women's Volleyball Struggles Against Top Competitors

The Crimson will be looking forward to the start of its Ivy League season next week after dropping all three of its weekend contests at the Northwestern Invitational.

The Harvard women’s volleyball team (2-9) faced its biggest competition of the season thus far, losing to Marquette (7-5), Northwestern (10-1), and Charlotte (9-5) all in straight sets.

“Our preseason tournaments, there’s no pressure to win or anything like that. They’re just preparing us for our Ivy League games,” co-captain Miyo Pettit said. “The teams we played this weekend [were] the best competition we’ve seen so far.”

It’s no surprise that the Crimson faced a challenge against its power conference foes this weekend. Northwestern, a member of the Big 10, received votes for this week’s NCAA top 25 rankings, while Marquette from the Big East boasts a Rating Percentage Index inside the top 100 nationally.

Despite a current losing streak of six games, Harvard is hopeful for the weeks ahead. “I think this weekend we had a lot better energy than we’ve had in the past,” said sophomore Taylor Docter, a key contributor this weekend. “I think everyone’s just really looking forward to next weekend. Hopefully we’ll enter strong against Dartmouth.”

CHARLOTTE 3, HARVARD 0

Harvard fell, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16, in its final game Saturday to Charlotte.

“Getting a winning mentality was something we needed to take away from this weekend,” Pettit said at the conclusion of the three tournament matches.

Junior co-captain Anne Carroll Ingersoll had a team-high five kills, and received help from junior Christine Wu, who led the Crimson with eight digs and two aces.

After a weekend of play over 1,000 miles away from home, Harvard had started to feel the effects of its eight-game roadstand.

“This year we have been traveling a lot more than last year,” Docter said. “It’s tiring and draining being on the road.”

While the team will have to wait until October to host its first opponent since Sept. 4, a matchup at Dartmouth will serve as a much more familiar, closer, and friendlier environment.

NORTHWESTERN 3, HARVARD 0

Harvard started its Saturday against the tournament’s host, losing to Northwestern, 25-19, 25-13, 25-20.

Senior Mikaelle Comrie paced Harvard with eight kills, and Docter tallied up five kills and eight digs. Northwestern totaled 40 kills, while Harvard managed only 27.

Despite Northwestern’s convincing victory, Pettit remained optimistic after the match.

“Northwestern is a very competitive, high-level team, and we held our own against them,” the co-captain said. “We were leading most of the first set. That was something very good for our confidence level, recognizing that we can play at a very high level.”

Ingersoll agreed, stating that the match was “a good building-off point for us to take into Ivies next week.”

Pettit believes that after playing point-for-point with a top-level Big 10 squad, the team has grown even closer and is working even stronger together as a unit.

“Volleyball is a game of movement, and momentum comes from good team chemistry, and that was there today and this weekend,” Pettit said.

MARQUETTE 3, HARVARD 0

Harvard started off its tournament Friday night with a straight-sets defeat, losing to Charlotte, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18.

Comrie and Wu led the way for the Crimson with eight kills and 10 digs, respectively. The Crimson also got help from its young core, with freshmen and sophomores representing four of the match’s six starters.

“A lot of the sophomores and freshmen are really stepping up,” Pettit said. “I’m seeing it after every single set, getting that experience under our belt with these preseason games.”

Pettit admitted that while the team’s developing youngsters continue to improve, the group is a step away from being able to compete at its highest level.

“We still haven’t established consistent play,” Pettit said. “Something that we need to work on is playing to 25, finishing the game. And then I think the wins will come.”

The night’s low point struck when freshman starting setter Natalie Doyle suffered an ankle sprain, an injury that would cause her to miss the rest of the tournament. Matters became worse when, shortly after the match, fellow freshman starter Teresa Skelly came down with food poisoning. Both players hope to be in action for Harvard’s next match, when the squad travels up to Dartmouth on Friday to kick off its Ivy League season.