After Upset Loss to Columbia, Women's Volleyball Tops Cornell in Bounce Back Win

After coming into the weekend riding four straight wins, the Harvard women’s volleyball team seemed to be running on all cylinders. Indeed, this weekend, in which the Crimson conference leaders were playing teams at the bottom of the Ivy League, looked on paper to be a reprieve from playing rival and perennial power Yale last weekend and co-conference leader Dartmouth next weekend.

Helped along by the strong play of senior outside hitter Kathleen Wallace, Harvard (9-8, 5-2 Ivy) managed to squeak by Cornell (4-13, 0-7) on Saturday after suffering their second conference loss of the season to Columbia (5-11, 3-4) on Friday.

HARVARD 3, CORNELL 2

Down two sets to one and facing match point in the fourth set, the Crimson saw its hopes for a conference championship on the precipice. The squad was now second in the conference standings to Dartmouth after a loss the night before, and another defeat might have meant the end of the team’s quest for a second straight Ivy League title.

But the players responded to the pressure by rattling off the last three points of the set, eventually coming out on top with a close 26-24 fourth set victory.

Throughout the night, Harvard responded to pressure well after dropping the first two sets, winning the last three sets by a combined six points.

“For a moment there, we felt as though the season was slipping through our fingers,” co-captain Caroline Holte said. “But what we learned from that is that we’re a resilient team that can take the pressure of the whole season laying down on us, and that we should really play for the next point—rather than for the Ivy title.”

One highlight of the night included the play of senior outside hitter Kathleen Wallace, who finished the night with a team-high 18 kills and also 14 digs. After suffering from injury the first half of the season, Wallace has not missed a beat since returning, scoring her second consecutive—and third career—double-double on Saturday.

“Kathleen has really stepped up during crucial times when we needed her, which is awesome to be able to rely on as a teammate,” sophomore outside hitter Paige Kebe said. “It’s really cool to see her transition into a senior leadership role and nice to have her back.”

COLUMBIA 3, HARVARD 1

The Crimson faced its first conference road test of the season on Friday against Columbia, which had just pulled off an upset victory over Penn the weekend before. Columbia had similar plans in store for Harvard.

The Lions managed to pull off another upset this time around, led by Bailey Springer, who had 18 kills on the night. Springer gave Harvard trouble last season as well, landing a game-high 22 kills almost exactly one year ago.

Harvard came back and rattled off the third set, 25-16. The fourth set, though, again went the way of the Lions, who only trailed twice—both times early in the set by one point—in scoring a 25-20 victory.

The first set went back and forth for the first half, with the game tied at seven points in the game, ending at the 16-16 mark. But an ace from Jennifer Petrovich and kills from Springer and Luciana Del Valle gave the Lions a three-point lead that they would not concede, winning 25-20.

“We didn’t really put in every ounce of effort that we should have,” Holte said. “Now we know that every team is a fierce competitor. Moving forward, we’re going to treat each team like we treat Yale and make sure to respect them.”

The second set was all about runs. The Lions jumped out to a 13-4 lead, only to see that lead dwindle to one after the Crimson went on a 12-4 run behind four kills from Wallace and two from junior Corie Bain. But the Lions regained control, never letting the Crimson tie the game en route to a 25-19 win.

The Crimson now sits in a tie for second in the Ivy League with Yale, who both trail Dartmouth by a game.

—Staff writer Kurt T. Bullard can be reached at kurt.bullard@thecrimson.com.