Women's Volleyball Clinches Ancient Eight Title

After a year of playing catch-up to fellow Ivy League competitors, the Harvard women’s volleyball team stood two wins away this weekend from its first Ivy League championship since 2004.

Harvard didn’t let the opportunity slip away.

The Crimson dropped only one set on the weekend to clinch a share of the Ancient Eight title, finishing off Columbia in straight sets on Friday and ending the regular season with a 3-1 win against Cornell on Saturday. With these two wins, the Crimson forced a one-game playoff against defending Ivy League champion Yale to determine which team will represent the conference in the national tournament.

“It was pure euphoria,” sophomore Grace Weghorst said. “It was so amazing.”

After losing two of its first three conference games, Harvard swept its final 11 and will host the Bulldogs on Friday. The championship is the Crimson’s second in program history.

HARVARD 3, CORNELL 1

Down to its last point, Cornell (6-18, 3-11 Ivy) tried to put a shot past juniors Jennifer Shults and Caroline Holte to extend the match. The Big Red had no luck. Shults and Holte emphatically blocked the shot to secure the third and final set for Harvard (19-4, 12-2), and were immediately mobbed by teammates.

“The game was full of emotion,” Weghorst said. “We came into it knowing that we absolutely had to win. If we didn’t win, we didn’t get the rings. It was definitely on our mind.”

The third set was not as one-sided as the final frame. The set featured 14 ties, including one at 22 points. Cornell had a chance to win the set at 25-24, but a kill from Weghorst sent the game to extra points. Another kill from Weghorst and an attack error from Cornell gave the Crimson a 2-1 advantage.

Victory was not always imminent for the Crimson. Cornell never trailed in the first frame, ultimately defeating Harvard, 25-20, without committing an error.

“We were tight and made a lot of errors in the first game,” Weghorst said. “We really think that we gave Cornell that game.”

The Big Red also took an early 2-1 lead in the second set, but three straight attack errors from Cornell and a kill by Shults shifted momentum back to the home team. These six kills were part of a 12-4 run that put the Crimson up, 15-6—an advantage that the team would not surrender.

Weghorst led the team with 16 kills, followed by 15 from co-captain Caroline Walters.

“It was definitely a very difficult game,” Weghorst said. “Cornell did not give us that win. We had to work for it.”

HARVARD 3, COLUMBIA 1

On Friday, Harvard dominated from beginning to end against Columbia (8-15, 4-10). The Crimson won in straight sets, each by at least five points, to keep on pace with Yale entering the last match of the regular season.

After the Lions won two consecutive points to bring the third set within five points at 24-19, Holte was able to secure a kill for Harvard and lift her team over Columbia, 3-0.

Harvard set the tone early in the match, jumping out to an early 11-6 lead and never letting the Lions get within five points after that point. The second set was contested early on, but after Columbia gained a one-point lead over the Crimson, 11-10, Harvard won seven of the next nine points, gaining control of the match and putting it one set away from finishing off the Lions.

Weghorst led the Crimson on Friday night, finishing with 11 kills. Sophomore Corie Bain fell two kills shy of completing a triple-double in the MAC, finishing with 20 assists and 10 digs.

“It was a crazy ride,” Weghorst said. “It was an absolutely amazing year.”

—Staff writer Kurt T. Bullard can be reached at kurtbullard@college.harvard.edu.