Dartmouth Volleyball Opens Season with Marathon Match Versus Akron

Friday, September 7

Raleigh, N.C.

5:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Akron

Dartmouth Volleyball Opens Season with Marathon Match Versus Akron

9/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

RALEIGH, N.C. ? The Dartmouth women's volleyball team took a 2-1 lead against the University of Akron but the Zips rallied past the Big Green in the opening day of the Wolfpack Invitational Friday evening.The game was the Dartmouth's first of the season while UAA has now won seven straight.

Dartmouth came out strong but the Zips stayed tough with UA prevailing 30-21, 30-32, 30-27, 20-30, 14-16. Junior Jess Thomas (Tampa, Fla.) and sophomore Morgan Covington (Katy, Texas) led the Big Green in kills and blocks.

"This might be the best team we'll see this season," said head coach Ann Marie Larese. "I'm very proud of the way they played tonight and this game makes me excited for the rest of the season. We might have lost but it was a great way to start."

Thomas was tops for Dartmouth with 16 kills as she was one of three Big Green players in double-digits. She also added 15 digs for her first double-double of the season. Covington led her team in hitting with a .294 percentage. The sophomore was also tops with seven total blocks as the Big Green outblocked the Zips 16-10. Senior Katie Hirsch notched 49 assists to go along with five kills and 12 digs. Megan MacGregor (Carlsbad, Calif.) also added a double-double with 15 kills and digs.

Dartmouth took the opening game, 30-21, behind a solid hitting effort but the Zips mounted a rally after trailing 10-5 in the game two. A pair of kills jumpstarted a 9-4 run that brought UA to even at 14-all. From there, the teams battled back and forth but it was Akron that took the narrow 32-30 decision.

Dartmouth (0-1) battled back to take game three in another closely contested match but couldn't close out the Zips in the fourth contest, as UA breezed to a 10-point victory. It was tight throughout in the fifth game, which featured seven ties and four lead changes. The Zips used a 5-1 run to take a commanding 14-10 lead, but the Big Green refused to give in.

"Morgan was a great player for us tonight while Jess got hot midway through the match and was the key to our outside hitting. Our passing was outstanding and there were a lot of positives we'll be able to take from this match," Larese said.

Dartmouth will look to capture its first win of the seaon on Saturday with a pair of matches beginning at Noon. The Big Green will face host N.C. State before taking on East Carolina.