Volleyball Opens Ivy League Action with Win over Harvard

Saturday, September 27

Hanover, N.H.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

10-2, 1-0Ivy

HARVARD

7-3, 0-1Ivy

Harvard

Dartmouth

Volleyball Opens Ivy League Action with Win over Harvard

9/27/2014 6:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth volleyball opened Ivy League play at Leede Arena on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 victory over Harvard, 27-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, snapping the Crimson's five-match winning streak. The Big Green improved to 10-2 overall and are 1-0 in conference action, while Harvard dipped to 7-3.

“I am really proud of the team's effort and how focused they remained throughout the entire match,” said head coach Erin Lindsey. “We knew that Harvard had a lot more in them than they showed during the first two sets and we were prepared to fight for it. They are a very strong team in the middle and we did just enough to come away with a win. I am excited to have started Ivy season and was anxious to see where we stood. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes and to be home again next weekend.”

Although Dartmouth won the first two points of the match, the Crimson would take and keep the lead soon after, even though the Big Green were never more than a point behind. A kill by junior Paige Caridi tied the score at 12 and Dartmouth took its first lead since the start of the match after a bad set. Following a lot of back-and-forth action, a kill on the other side of the net gave the two teams its 10th tie with a score of 25-25. Two errors by Harvard swiftly ended the set in the Green and White's favor.

The second set was no different than the first; six ties started things off before the team from the Upper Valley went on a four-point rally (12-8) after two errors by Harvard and three kills courtesy of sophomores Emily Astarita, Molly Kornfeind and Lottie MacAulay. For the remainder of the set, the Green and White got as far as six points ahead of the Crimson (23-17) and never let the opponent get closer than three points behind. Caridi ended the second set on a kill down the line.

Harvard found its groove in the third set, winning the first four points and taking a sizeable lead until an ace by senior Alex Schoenberger, the first of the match for either team, tied the score at 11. Harvard took the lead following a perfectly placed kill, but Dartmouth tied the score at 12 after a good rally by both teams and a kill that landed just in bounds. Tied at 20, the Big Green scored twice in a row off blocks by MacAulay and Astarita, but Harvard countered with a point of its own off a kill. With Harvard leading 25-24, an error by the Green and White gave the Crimson its first victory of the day.

With neither team yielding, the fourth set started off aggressively and in favor of the home team, which won the first point off an error and had a slight advantage until a kill on the other side of the net tied the score at eight. Four ties later, the Big Green went on a four-point run (17-13) after two kills by Caridi, an error by the Crimson and an ace by junior Kayden Cook. With a score of 24-16 and just one point needed to end the match, Harvard went on a five-point rally to put the score dangerously close (24-21). A block by sophomore Stacey Benton that tipped the ball back into Harvard territory quickly ended the match.

Kornfeind registered a double-double (12 kills, 12 digs), while Benton also had one with her 36 assists and 14 digs.

Dartmouth will next play on Friday, Oct. 3, when it welcomes Brown to town for a 7 p.m. match. The following day, the Big Green will host Yale at 5 p.m.