Seniors Look for Sweep of Brown & Yale in Final Weekend

Friday: Brown (6-17, 2-10 Ivy) at Dartmouth (14-9, 6-6 Ivy)
Location: Hanover, N.H.
Date: Friday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
Series Record: Series tied, 15-15.

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Saturday: Yale (17-5, 11-1 Ivy) at Dartmouth (14-9, 6-6 Ivy)
Location: Hanover, N.H.
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m.
Series Record: Yale leads, 26-9.

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HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth volleyball team enters the final weekend of the season with a 14-9 record and are 6-6 in the Ivy League. The Big Green hosts Brown on Friday at 7 p.m. and Yale on Saturday for Senior Night at 5 p.m.

Last weekend, Dartmouth played its final two road contests and both went five sets. The team won at Cornell, 3-2, but lost at Columbia, 2-3.

Against the Big Red, senior co-captain Amber Bryant (Libertyville, Ill.) set the Dartmouth volleyball all-time dig's record in the victory. In the win, the libero totaled 28 digs, putting her past Ashley Dean '02, who previously held the record at 1,482.

The victory wasn't an easy one for Dartmouth as it dropped the first two sets in the match before coming all the way back to earn the win. Even after winning the third and fourth sets, the Big Green had to comeback from a 9-6 deficit in the fifth. Dartmouth rolled off three straight points on a kill by sophomore Elisa Scudder (Ashburn, Va.) and then a kill and service ace by senior Madeline Baird (Austin, Texas).

Cornell responded by regaining a two-point lead on a kill by Kelly Marble and an attack error by senior Kendall Houston (Austin, Texas). After a kill by freshman Alex Schoenberger (Corte Madera, Calif.) cut the lead to 11-10, the Big Red won the next two points to push the lead to 13-10. With their backs against the wall, the Big Green won the final five points of the match on a kill by senior Annie Villanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif.), three kills by Schoenberger and an attack error by Madeleine Przybyl to win the fifth, 15-13.

In the match against Columbia last Saturday, Dartmouth held a 2-1 lead in the match, but the Lions won the final two sets to close out the contest. In the fifth, Columbia jumped out to a 10-4 lead. The Big Green slowed down the Lions, winning six of the last 11 points, but Columbia took the set, 15-10.

Baird led the Big Green with 18 kills and added 13 digs. Baird was one of three Dartmouth players with 10-plus kills. Freshman Lucia Pohlman (Mill Valley, Calif.) recorded 14 kills and Schoenberger totaled 11 kills. Houston had a double-double with 50 assists and 17 digs, and Bryant led the team with 22 digs.

Senior Class
This weekend's matches will mark the final contests for four Dartmouth players in Baird, Bryant, Houston and Villanueva.

Baird recently set the all-time kill's record and has 1,241 in her career. She is also tied for the third-highest single-match kill total with 27, which she did in 2008. Not only has she left her mark on offense but she is sixth all-time in digs with 1,107.

Besides setting the all-time dig's record with 1,522, Bryant also is the record holder for digs in a match with 40 and digs in a season with 485. She set both of those marks last season.

In 209 sets, Houston has totaled 1,714 assists in her career, which is the fourth-highest total in the program's history. She also has two of the top 20 single-season assist totals.

In Villanueva's career, she has 635 kills, which is 14th on the all-time list. She will also finish her career in the top three in all-time hitting percentage. On the defensive side, Villanueva is sixth all-time in total blocks with 205.

Quick Hits

Scudder set a new career high this season with 75 total blocks in 88 sets. Last year, she totaled 74 in 96 sets. The 75 total blocks is the fifth-highest single-season total of all-time. Andrea Sea '03 holds the all-time record with 80.

Dartmouth has gone five sets in its last three matches and has played seven five-set matches all year. The Big Green's record in those contests is 2-5.

Villanueva heads into the weekend with a .366 hitting percentage on 514 total attempts. The Dartmouth single-season all-time record is .347 by Danra Kazenski '99 in 1998 on 548 attempts.

Opponents

Brown (6-17, 2-10 Ivy)
The Bears enter the weekend with a 6-17 record and are 2-10 in the Ivy League. Brown is on a six-match losing streak after losing at home to Princeton and Penn last weekend. Maddie Lord leads the team in kills with 287. Annika Gliottone is the team-leader in digs with 399.

The two teams are tied, 15-15, after 30 all-time meetings. The teams first met on Oct. 29, 1994 with the Bears winning at home, 3-0. The Big Green won the next year at home, 3-2. Brown won both matches last season. Dartmouth earned a 3-0 victory earlier this season in Providence.

Yale (17-5, 11-1 Ivy)
Yale enters the weekend with a 17-5 record overall and are 11-1 in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs are on a six-match winning streak and have won 11 of their last 12 matches. Last weekend, Yale won two matches at home, defeating Penn, 3-0, and Princeton, 3-1.

The Bulldogs lead the all-time series over Dartmouth, 26-9. The squads first met on Oct. 28, 1994 at Yale, with the Bulldogs winning, 3-0. The Big Green won their first contest in the series at home on Nov. 1, 1997. Yale has controlled the series of late, winning seven of the last eight matches. The Bulldogs won the previous match between the two schools this year, 3-0.

Schedules