Big Green Drop Two Matches at West Point Challenge

Sunday, September 11

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Army

Big Green Drop Two Matches at West Point Challenge

9/11/2011 5:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: Dartmouth

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The Dartmouth volleyball team lost two matches on Sunday at the West Point Challenge. The Big Green lost 3-1 to Army and then fell, 3-2, to NJIT. The two losses dropped the Big Green to 4-3 on the season. It marks the team's first two-match losing streak. Army improved to 6-3 and NJIT moved to 3-6. Dartmouth went 1-3 at the challenge and senior Madeline Baird (Austin, Texas) was named to the all-tournament team.

The Big Green played NJIT in their second match of the day on Sunday and held a 2-0 lead, but the Highlanders came back from the deficit to claim a 3-2 victory. After winning the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-14, Dartmouth struggled to find the same consistency in order to close out the match. NJIT won the third, 25-20, and then squeaked out the fourth, 25-22. In the shortened fifth set, the Big Green held a 2-1 lead, but the Highlanders won the next four points and never looked back to win the set, 15-12, and the match.

Baird led the team with 22 kills. She also added 14 digs. Dartmouth had two other players with 10 or more digs, senior Annie Villanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif.) had 15 and freshman Maura Manley (New Bedford, Mass) had 11. Senior Amber Bryant (Libertyville, Ill.) led the team with 24 digs. Junior Alissa Santa Maria (Yorba Linda, Calif.) totaled 59 assists.

Janet Snell led the Highlanders with 22 kills and 15 digs. Camilla Tinari added 13 kills and 22 digs.

In the match against Army, the Black Knights controlled the contest early, and held on for the victory in the fourth set. Army won the first set, 25-22, and the second, 25-19. The Big Green won a closely played third, 28-26, but the Black Knights won the fourth, 25-11, to win the match.

Dartmouth had four players with at least six kills, and was led by Baird with 13. The Big Green had four players with double-digit digs. Bryant led the team with 25, senior Kendall Houston (Austin, Texas) and Baird each had 15 and freshman Lucia Pohlman (Mill Valley, Calif.) tallied 14.

Ariana Mankus led Army with 22 kills and 17 digs. Margaux Jarka was the team leader in the back row with 22 digs.

Baird was the model of consistency over the course of the four matches to make the all-tournament team. She totaled 68 kills, 49 digs and 10 assists.

The Big Green goes back out on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Holy Cross at 7 p.m.