Harvard Creates Momentum in Final Three Non-Conference Games

The Harvard women’s volleyball team (1-7, 0-0 Ivy) snapped its losing streak this weekend, going 1-2 at Boston College’s Eagle Classic and creating momentum for the start of the conference season.

The Crimson fell in its first two games at the Classic, losing 1-3 in its matchups against BC (11-1, 0-0 ACC) and Bryant University (7-7, 0-0 AE). But the team stepped it up in its final non-conference matchup and defeated Stonehill College (1-13, 0-0 NEC) in three sets.

With a 1-7 record against a challenging non-conference slate, the Crimson spent the weekend getting in more practice and implementing adjustments from the earlier losses.

Senior outside hitter Brynne Faltinsky said that this weekend, the volleyball team prioritized enjoying the game, which she said largely contributed to the group’s success.

“I think something consistent theme that we focused on was really trusting our training,” Faltinsky said. “We can really enjoy competition and just have fun out there, because I think we realize we play the best when we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves.”

Harvard 1, BC 3

The Crimson showed no fear in the first set against BC despite entering the match winless and facing a team that had no losses. Harvard established dominance early, taking a 4-0 lead to start the first set.

Faltinsky continued her momentum from the last game during the first set, landing five kills. Freshman outside Sophia Rossi also had a strong first set and bounced back from a quiet previous game to return to the form that earned her all-tournament honors in her first weekend of games.

A mixed attack by the Crimson combined with opportunistic play off of Eagles errors helped Harvard control and put together arguably its best set of the young season to take the lead 25-22.

Riding high off the first set victory, the Crimson continued to take advantage of Boston College’s mistakes. Harvard once again jumped out to a lead, but this time, the Eagles were fast to erase. A 10-6 lead for Harvard quickly became a 12-10 lead for Boston College. The Crimson responded to reclaim a two point lead, but the Eagles flexed their muscles over the remainder of the set to win 25-17.

Boston College continued to show why the team is undefeated in the third set. Carrying over momentum from the previous set, the Eagles seized an early lead that would never waver.

The Eagles’ junior outside Audrey Ross did a large part of the damage in this set. Ross scored six of her game high 20 kills in the third set. Boston College’s lead only grew as the team claimed the set 25-15.

Harvard junior outside Ali Farquhar started off strong in the fourth set. Farquhar, who took home all-tournament honors at last week’s Harvard Invitational, contributed three kills out of Harvard’s first four points.

Even with Farquhar’s burst, Harvard could only just keep up. The Eagles took a small lead early on that they would never relinquish. The Crimson was able to tie the set at 9-9 and 12-12, but Boston College created more separation late. The Eagles ultimately won the set 25-16 to claim the match.

Harvard 1, Bryant 3

Looking to continue the improvements made during the Boston College match, Harvard returned to Chestnut Hill the next day to take on the Bryant Bulldogs.

After a sluggish start to the set, Faltinsky logged five of her six kills on the set and commanded the service line to power a Crimson run to take a 14-12 lead. Harvard seemed poised to control the set from here, but Crimson errors helped fuel a Bryant rebuttal to tie the set at 20.

Harvard jumped ahead in the race to five, but the score quickly tied again. The Bulldogs won the race to 25 but only by one point, forcing deuce. The Crimson had a chance to clinch the set at 29-28 after battling off four match points. However, it would be Bryant that had the last laugh, scoring three straight and claiming the set 31-29.

After a good first set by the Harvard middles kept the Bulldog offense off-balance, including four blocks, The Crimson was unable to slow down the Bryant outsides in the second set. The Bulldogs consistently found holes in Harvard’s defense and rained kills down on the hardwood.

The only bright spot for the Crimson was two service aces as Bryant ultimately won the second set 25-14.

Desperate to extend the match, the Crimson showed fight early in the set. The two squads exchanged points early before the strong serves of freshman setter Sophia Wei helped Harvard open a 14-9 lead.

The Crimson maintained this healthy lead for most of the set before a late Bulldog charge closed the gap to two. Harvard stayed calm and secured the final two points of the set to win 25-21 and extend the match another set.

The foes exchanged points and the lead throughout the set and created a 21-21 deadlock. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the Bulldogs struck first and went on a three point run. Facing set and match point, a service error gifted Harvard a shot at life, but it would not be enough. One last kill by Bryant claimed the set and match 25-22.

Despite the loss, Farquhar complemented the team’s improved blocking ability this week — something she said they exhibited in all three of the weekend’s contests.

“I think we put up a strong block against all teams this weekend, we shut down their big outsides,” Farquhar said. “That was really important to make our back row’s job a little bit easier.”

Harvard 3, Stonehill 0

Harvard took its first victory of the season this Saturday, sweeping Stonehill 0-3 in a strong performance from numerous Harvard stars.

The Crimson’s final game of the weekend began with back and forth scoring opportunities until Stonehill took advantage of a couple of poor attacks from Harvard and gained a 4-9 lead on the Crimson.

Their lead didn’t last long. Harvard responded with four points of its own — and a stellar block — that rebounded the team to Stonehill’s level, one which the Crimson was rearing to surpass.

After a brief back and forth, the Crimson delivered a nine-point run including a kill from Faltinsky, who topped the team for kills in the game with a 0.529 hitting percentage.

Once in the lead, the Crimson let very few points from the Skyhawks through, closing out the set 25-18.

Set two was decided off the bat as Harvard took an early and unwavering lead. Harvard racked up six aces in the single set, four from sophomore setter Nicole Cornell. With just a few kills from the Skyhawks, the Crimson closed a tight set at 25-10 and went into the third with incredible momentum.

Stonehill met Harvard with a closer battle at the start of the third set, returning every Harvard point until 4-4. But Harvard caught on quickly and was able to bring out the skill the team had displayed throughout the weekend.

With kills across the board and a better blocking game than Harvard had exhibited earlier this season, the Crimson came out with the third set victory 25-19 and completed their strong performance against Stonehill 25-19.

Now, Harvard will enter its season of conference competition with a win under its belt. With a game against Dartmouth College (2-6) on Sunday, September 28 at 4 p.m., the Crimson is gearing up for its season — and Faltinsky said the past weeks of gameplay have set the players up well.

“It exposes us to such a high level of play right off the bat, and I think that’s really only going to serve us well heading into conference,” Faltinsky said.

“We’ve kind of already seen some really good teams, so we’re feeling prepared and feeling like we can kind of handle the competition that’s coming our way,” she added.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.

—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at reed.trimble@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ReedTrimble1.