Women's Volleyball Drops Two of Three at Harvard Invitational

After winning a share of the conference championship last year and being one win away from an NCAA Tournament bid, the Harvard women’s volleyball team was reminded just how tough it will be to repeat last season’s performance.

Opening its season off with a straight-set win versus Rutgers (1-5), the Crimson (1-2) dropped its final two games of the weekend at the 2015 Harvard Invitational, failing to win a set against either Illinois State (4-2) or Long Beach State (4-2).

“It’s still the preseason,” co-captain Caroline Holte said. “So it’s a great time for us to test our limits and see where they are.”

LONG BEACH STATE 3, HARVARD 0

With Harvard one point away from clinching the first set, the 49ers turned the tide on the match. After a Crimson service error, two kills from junior Nele Barber helped Long Beach State win the first set en route to winning three-straight sets to win its second match of the weekend and hand Harvard its second loss.

“As a team, we can all get better at defense,” co-captain Hannah Schmidt said. “Especially against the slide.”

Barber was too much for the Crimson to handle, recording 19 kills in only three sets. No players on the Crimson recorded even half of that total, with sophomores Paige Kebe and Caroline Labanowski leading the squad at nine apiece. The two second-years played sparingly freshman year, but played consistently throughout the weekend in an effort to replace the minutes of key seniors that had graduated.

The 49ers went on a 5-0 run midway through the third set to give the squad what turned out to be an insurmountable lead and effectively sealed the match.

ILLINOIS STATE 3, HARVARD 0

The Redbirds got off to a hot start in the Malkin Athletic Center on Saturday, jumping out to an 11-3 lead in the first set. Illinois State didn’t look back from there.

Harvard dropped three straight sets to the Redbirds to suffer its first loss of the year.

The Crimson stayed with Illinois State for the majority of the second set, tying the game at 19 points apiece. But the Redbirds would win six of the next nine points to take the second set.

Offense was at a premium for Harvard, as senior Kathleen Wallace was the leading attacker for the Crimson with seven kills.

Two freshmen also made their season debuts over the weekend, as Anna Uhr and Christina Cornelius started for Harvard.

“They really stepped up to the plate,” Holte said. “It’s exciting to prove that we’re a team with depth.”

HARVARD 3, RUTGERS 0

After winning the first set of the first contest of the year, the Crimson found itself in a 22-17 hole in the subsequent frame. After a service error from the Scarlet Knights, junior setter Corie Bain trotted back to take the serve and try to regain some momentum for Harvard.

She served seven straight times. The Crimson scored seven straight points.

Harvard found itself in a similar position in the next set, down five points with Rutgers five points away from a set win. But the Crimson rallied off ten of the next thirteen points to take third set and the game. Wallace led the late-set charge with three of the team’s seven kills during the run.

All of the sets were hotly contested, as Harvard pulled out all of the three frames by three or fewer points.

Notably absent for most of the weekend was junior Grace Weghorst, who only played in limited action against Illinois State. An All-Ivy League Honorable Mention, Weghorst dealt with nagging injuries all of last year on the team’s path towards a share of the Ivy League title.

Though the Crimson was unable to come away with a winning record, the team was took away a few lessons from the weekend.

“We learned that there’s still a lot of room for us to grow,” Holte said. “That’s what we’re going to be working on for these next few days.”

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