Women’s Volleyball Off to a Hot Start, Sweeps Harvard Invitational

The Harvard women’s volleyball team (3-0, 0-0 Ivy) started the season off right with a home victory against the Stonehill Skyhawks (1-3, 0-0 NEC) last Friday night, followed by victories over the Merrimack College Warriors (0-6, 0-0 MAAC) and the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (3-3, 0-3 American East). By sweeping the Harvard Invitational, the squad clinched an undefeated opening weekend for the second consecutive season.

A near-capacity crowd filed into the bleachers of the Malkin Athletic Center to watch the season opener for the Crimson on Friday. The atmosphere buzzed with excitement, as the crowd welcomed the team to its home arena. An eager crowd awaited to see the follow-up performance from a squad that returned to a winning record for the first time since 2017 during the 2023 season. Memories of that team were magnified by the reality that the Crimson opened this season squaring off against the same foe as it did last year, the Skyhawks.

Graduation had hit Harvard hard this spring, as the team lost a loaded senior class from last season’s 15-9 squad. As a result, all eyes were on Head Coach Jennifer Weiss to see if she would be able to keep the momentum rolling. With the victory in the home opener, Weiss lived up to the pressure, and then continued to steer the team to success the next day.

“This year definitely feels different,” sophomore setter Amelie Lima said. “Their impact on the team was immense,” Lima said, of the recently-departed 2024 graduates. Still, the right-side attacker indicated confidence in the team’s trajectory: “Although we are a younger team this year, I know it will be a great season.”

Harvard 3, Stonehill 0

Harvard appeared on track for a celebratory opening as it took an early lead in the first set. However, in a foreshadowing of the set to come, Stonehill went on a quick scoring run to even up the score. The first set quickly became a game of runs, with momentum swinging swiftly between teams.

Unforced errors plagued both teams throughout the first set and helped spark runs for the opposing side. An early Skyhawk run came after the Crimson failed to convert on multiple kill opportunities, hitting the ball out of bounds each time. Stonehill then squandered its momentum and its lead with a crucial service error, which allowed Harvard to recover from its plague of mistakes.

Early in the set for the Crimson, it was sophomore outside hitter Ali Farquhar finding openings for the team, putting points on the board for Harvard. But as the set neared crunch time, Farquhar’s starting counterpart, junior outside hitter Brynne Faltisnsky, stepped up. Following a well-timed timeout by Weiss to slow a building Skyhawk run, Faltinsky went on a nearly one-woman run for Harvard, as the Crimson sealed the back-and-forth first set with a 25-22 victory.

With the cobwebs shaken off, Harvard cruised through the next two sets to lopsided 25-14 and 25-17 victories. Stonehill was able to hide its lack of size in the first set, but it quickly caught up with the Skyhawks. Though Stonehill ended the game with a lead in blocks, its dearth of height at the net led to the Skyhawks hitting an abysmal .077% overall. On the other hand, Harvard hit at .234%. This is the second straight season that the Crimson have begun play with a decisive sweep against Stonehill; last year, Harvard defeated the Skyhawks 25-11, 25-17, 25-20.

Leading the charge for the Crimson was the returning captain, senior outside hitter, Corinne Furey. Furey set a new career-high record with 16 kills, using her height and ability to find the open court to her advantage. This new mark not only led the team, but surpassed her old career-high of ten, from her sophomore season. Faltinsky nearly joined Furey in the double digit kills party, but narrowly missed out and finished with nine.

While the upperclassmen led the way for Harvard in kills, some promising younger players also had nice performances. Farquhar played a key role in getting the Crimson out of the gates fast. Fellow sophomore, middle blocker Ryleigh Patterson, garnered five kills alongside two blocks and an ace for Harvard. Patterson’s ace was one of ten on the day for the Crimson. Harvard bested the Skyhawks 10-4 in the ace department.

Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Crimson was the debut of first-year Ryleigh Resmer. In her first collegiate bout of action, Resmer delivered seven kills and four blocks and boasted a .455 hitting percentage. Harvard’s blend of youth and experience was perfectly encapsulated when the young Resmer and veteran Furey combined for four of the Crimson’s final five points to seal the third set and the match.

Integrating the first-years into the team and building chemistry on and off the court can be a problem for many programs, but Harvard has a creative solution that allows young talents like Resmer to perform out of the gates.

“I was elected as a ‘schmaster,’ a sophomore who helps guide and assimilate the first-years on the team,” Lima explained. “Being a resource has been amazing because I was in the same spot last year, and I know at times school and practice can feel extremely exhausting and overwhelming but being able to help one another is rewarding.”

The rewards of that help were evident in the play of the freshmen as well as the camaraderie displayed by the Crimson players, both experienced and green, throughout the weekend.

Harvard 3, Merrimack 2

Harvard looked to carry over momentum from its Friday match against Merrimack, the following afternoon. These hopes came to fruition early, as the Crimson jumped out to a 9-5 lead over the Warriors. Merrimack proved to be no push-over though, as the Warriors stabilized the deficit before responding with two swift runs to clinch the first set 25-21.

In an inverse of the first set, Merrimack carried over momentum from the opener and used it to take control of the second set early on. However, Harvard’s grit allowed it to stay within striking distance of the Warriors. Eventually, the Crimson seized the moment and overtook Merrimack behind the leadership of Furey. The veteran stepped up once again for Harvard and secured three of the final four points of the set to capture the set 25-23 and level the game at one set all.

The third set maintained the early game pattern of one side taking an early lead before being chased down and surpassed by the other team. The Warriors wasted no time, surging out to an early 4-0 advantage, but as quickly as the lead was created, it vanished. The Crimson immediately responded with a run of its own and never looked back from there. A 25-20 third set in favor of Harvard put the Crimson within one set of victory.

Once again though, the Warriors lived up to their fighting name as Merrimack held Harvard at arms length throughout the fourth set. For the third set in a row, the Warriors took an early lead against the Crimson. This time, Merrimack was able to hold off Harvard. Although the Crimson nipped at the Warriors’ heels throughout the set, Harvard was unable to erase the early deficit and succumbed to a 25-20 loss, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

Due to the abbreviated nature of fifth sets in volleyball — fifth sets only go to 15 points, unlike the 25 point sets earlier in the match — a fast start is critical to secure the clincher and the victory. For the first time since the opening set, Harvard took the lead early. Unlike the first set, the Crimson was able to maintain this lead. Harvard never left this set in doubt, as a 9-3 run to start the set culminated in a 15-7 final set victory for the Crimson.

The heroes of this marathon match were familiar names for Harvard. Faltinsky, seemingly unsatisfied with being one kill short of double digits in the first match of the season, blew past the double digit barrier to amass a whopping 19 kills on the game. This was not only a game-high mark but also a career-high mark for Faltinsky, destroying her previous one-match high of 13.

Furey continued her impressive play from the first game with another double-digit kill performance, this time tallying 11 kills along with two blocks.

The Crimson also had strong play from the inside of the court. The young pair of Riley Resmer and Ryleigh Patterson had a block party against Merrimack, and everyone was invited. Resmer roofed the Warriors five times while her counterpart Patterson logged four blocks. Patterson also notched eight kills and an ace in the game.

Crafty senior setter Rocky Aguirre showcased her all around brilliance by affecting every aspect of the match. Aguirre put up her typical gaudy assist numbers leading the team and game with 39. For reference, the Warriors’ two leaders in assists had 39 assists combined in the game. Aguirre also contributed seven kills, three blocks, and an ace.

Harvard 3, University of New Hampshire 2

In a seeming repeat of the squad’s sluggish start against Merrimack, the Crimson found itself trailing the Wildcats by two sets early in the final game of the Harvard Invitational. UNH found its groove quite quickly on the fourth floor of the Malkin Athletic Center, decisively taking the first set 25-10.

The Wildcats kicked things off with a service ace, sending the ball directly down the middle of the court. Despite sending the ball long on a service error on the next point, Harvard was unable to take advantage of its offensive opportunity, sending possession back to UNH after failing to dig out a kill. The Wildcats showcased their serving prowess throughout the first set, posting four aces throughout their first 25 points, taking advantage of confusion on the Crimson end that allowed New Hampshire to attack the gaps in the center of the court. The sluggish start by Harvard saw Weiss call a timeout barely five minutes into play, as the visitors continued to capitalize on the Crimson’s miscommunication, resulting in a quick 9-1 lead for UNH.

The rest of the set proved similarly dismal for the home squad, with a few glimpses of glory being overshadowed by New Hampshire’s seeming dominant style of play. Unable to bounce back throughout the first set, Harvard took the court for the second set brimming with energy and a desire to level the score at one-a-piece. The first three quarters of the set did exactly that.

After falling behind 8-4, the Crimson was determined to find its groove and dig itself out of the deficit. With a kill by freshman Bennett Trubey, the Dallas native was able to ignite a much needed spark that saw the team claw its way back to an even 8-8 score with two more kills and an ace from Lima. The next series of points saw the score bounce back and forth between the two squads, with the Crimson even taking an 18-17 lead in the back half of the set after capitalizing on a succession of Wildcat errors.

But the second-set comeback simply wasn’t to be. Even with the change in play, which saw the home team look more confident and determined in the middle of the court, the team once again succumbed to a sluggish slump, enabling UNH to claim eight of the next nine points and ultimately clinch the set with a 25-19 scoreline.

Instead of allowing emotions to run high, the team approached the next three sets with an underdog mentality. Gunning to protect its home turf, the Crimson set out to end the weekend undefeated, a feat that, after the second set, seemed a lofty goal. However, the team thrived under the pressure.

Working together and shaking off the nerves from the slow start, the Crimson’s players started swinging harder, hitting bigger, and finding the corners of the court. With nothing to lose, the team started to gain its confidence back point-by-point, finding its first bout of success with a 25-21 victory in the third. The flipped script was not due to a reduction in the Wildcats’ level of play, but a rise in the Crimson’s performance that saw it strive to match the prowess of its difficult opponent. Notably, the Wildcats have proved a tricky foe in the past for the Crimson, with Harvard narrowly finding victory against the squad in its 2023 matchup, clinching the victory in a fifth set.

After the fourth set of this bout proved to be a back-and-forth battle, with the Crimson prevailing 25-23, it all came down to the precarious fifth. Tired from its earlier match against Merrimack but still riding the excitement of its comeback, the Crimson stayed cool and collected as it dominated against the visiting team. While the set remained tight through the first 20 points, with the teams staying gridlocked at 11 points each, Harvard showed why it deserved to win the weekend. With a succession of four quick points, in the form of three kills and an ace from senior Teia Piette, the team concluded the five set saga and ended the weekend undefeated.

Matches like this are “why volleyball is such a fun sport,” Lima said. “Our team was on the same page whenever we were down in some sets. We collectively agreed that we wanted to win more, and that slight change in confidence shifted the entire match in our favor.”

The team’s cohesive play throughout the tournament saw it land the most All-Tournament Team selections, with Aguirre, Patterson, and senior Lindsey Zhang making it on the competitive roster. The team will look to capitalize on its successful tournament this upcoming weekend, as it takes on another slew of competent opponents at the Art Carmichael Invitational in Kingston, R.I.. The team will face the hosts, the University of Rhode Island, on Thursday September 12 at 6:00 pm followed by two additional games against Stony Brook and Northern Illinois at 1:00pm and 4:00pm, respectively, on Friday, September 13. The tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Katharine A. Forst can be reached at katharine.forst@thecrimson.com

—Staff writer Reed Trimble can be reached at reed.trimble@thecrimson.com.