Women's Volleyball Sweeps Dartmouth, Earns Sixth Win of the Season

The Harvard women’s volleyball team (6-4, 1-0 Ivy) dominated Dartmouth (7-5, 0-1 Ivy) in almost all facets of Friday’s match en route to a 3-0 sweep in the Ancient Eight opener for both teams.

The win, which occurred at home at the Malkin Athletic Center, came after a loss on Tuesday night to New Hampshire in the team’s final non-conference fixture of the season.

“Dartmouth is a very good team,” Harvard coach Jennifer Weiss said. “They started off strong [but] I think we did a great job of preparing; the team did a nice job in practice. We really ran through how to defend against what they were going to bring out and also, offensively, where we could get some shots. I think the preparation is so important and after UNH they really came in in practice and worked hard to prepare for Dartmouth.”

The second set, which finished with a final score of 25-21, proved to be the tightest frame of the day, as it was bookended by decisive Crimson victories.

But a tense moment occurred at the opening of the match, when the Big Green jumped out to an early 11-7 lead.  Key kills by sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Shults and stellar serving by junior co-captain Kristen Casey allowed Harvard to fight back to take the lead, 13-12. Another 7-2 run gave the Crimson control of the set.

In the final stanza, the Crimson continued its dominance over Dartmouth, exploding to an early 8-2 lead and never looking back. With the completion of that frame, Harvard sealed its sixth victory of the season.

“I think we’re a uniquely close team, both on and off the court,” co-captain Natalie Doyle said. “I think being one of the smaller teams at Harvard... we just know each other so well, and we know each other’s tendencies, and we know what each other need emotionally; that allows us to come together.”

The Crimson came out with a balanced attack, with the same nine players making appearances in all three sets.

The team’s offensive front was led by sophomore Kathleen Wallace who had a team-high 10 kills, freshman Grace Weghorst with nine kills and two aces, and sophomore Caroline Holte who matched Weghorst’s nine kills.

This trio was aided by the play of both of the team’s setters as freshman Corinne Bain finished with 26 assists and partner sophomore Hannah Schmidt tallied 13 of her own.

Harvard’s defense also put up a strong showing, as Doyle had 16 digs, Bain had 14 digs, and Holte and Weghorst chipped in three blocks apiece.

The Big Green lacked  a cohesive attack, with only one player, freshman Emily Astarita, registering more than five kills. Astarita had roughly one third of her team’s total points with 10 kills on the night.

Junior Holly Harper paved the way on defense with 10 digs of her own, followed by 7 digs by both Astarita and Freshman Molly Kornfeind.

In addition to the lack of an attack that could overcome Harvard’s defense, Dartmouth also faltered due to a number of unforced errors. They committed a total of 16 errors in the three sets compared to Harvard’s 10. Many of these came at critical times, such as when the Big Green was attempting to mount a comeback or when it was beginning to go on a run.

Symbolic of the team’s youth, Weghorst and Bain, both freshmen, made huge contributions to the game.

“[Weghorst and Bain] are doing amazing”, Doyle said. “They’re playing all the way around. [Bain] is able to play front row, as a setter, and she’s getting some amazing kills. Same as [Weghorst], she just flies.”

The Crimson’s overall team effort was the most crucial aspect to the game. The contest was the second this season in which the squad has played just three sets. The other straight set contest was a home victory on Sept. 18 against UMass Lowell.

“We played a lot of preseason matches that had a lot of ups and downs, which is where we learned to be consistent”, Doyle said. “We came out today and the first point of game one, last point of game three, we had the same energy and presence. We were just able to play consistently, and to all be on the same page, and to avoid the emotional ups and downs. “