Women's Volleyball Winless in Service Academy Challenge

After ending last season on a tear, winning 11 of its last 12 games, the Harvard women’s volleyball team has gotten off to a slow start in its follow-up campaign.

The team traveled to Arlington, Va., to participate in the Service Academy Challenge, only to come away from the weekend without a win. The Crimson (1-5) has now dropped five straight games after winning its opener to start off the season.

“Obviously not winning is always hard,” junior Grace Weghorst said. “But we’re coming out of the weekend knowing that we learned a lot about our team as a unit and how we play against other teams.”

ARMY 3, HARVARD 2

After trading sets, the Black Knights (6-4) and the Crimson were tied at eight points apiece in the tie-breaking set. But after two unforced errors from Harvard, Army was able to gain enough cushion to push out to a sustainable lead. Nicole Perri recorded the game’s final two kills for the Black Knights to take the fifth and final set and send the Crimson back to Harvard without a victory.

After dealing with injury most of last season, Weghorst has been limited in action this season. The junior didn’t play through the entirety of a game throughout the entire weekend.

“The coach is using every lineup that she can,” Weghorst said. “She’s trying to make sure that she has all of the knowledge to know who will be starting [in Ivy League play].”

AIR FORCE 3, HARVARD 0

Harvard looked poised to take an early lead in the contest after an attack error by Air Force (4-7) put the Crimson up 24-21 with the ball in junior Corie Bain’s hands. But after an uncharacteristic service error forfeited service control for the Crimson, the Falcons won the next four points to win the game and quell any momentum Harvard had possessed.

Bain’s triple-double was not enough to stop the Falcons from taking every set in Friday’s late match just outside the nation’s capital. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native recorded a team-high 10 kills to go along with 11 digs and 16 assists, but the Falcons’ attack duo of Akokwe Clement and Shelley Spires was too much for the Crimson to handle. The pair averaged a combined nine kills in each set en route to victory.

CALIFORNIA 3, HARVARD 2

The first game of the weekend seemed to be in hand for the Crimson after the second set, with Harvard having taken the first two of the match. Harvard would come back from four points down early in the set to tie the third set at 22 points apiece, but the Bears were able to dig out a third-set win to extend the match.

After grinding out a win in that set, the Bears rolled through the Crimson for the remainder of the game. California took the following sets by scores of 25-18 and 15-9 to complete the three-set comeback and upend Harvard.

Sophomore Paige Kebe was prevalent in the Crimson attack on Friday, recording the most attacks in each contest. In her 41 attack attempts against California, the Ursuline Academy graduate recorded a team-high 14 kills in the match. But she also notched 11 errors to lead the team in that category as well.

“She’s really hitting the ball much better than last year,” co-captain Caroline Holte said. “She’s going to improve every year she plays.”

Christine Alftin led the Bears with 15 kills on the night to lead all players while only taking responsibility for three unforced errors.

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