Big Green Volleyball Wins Ivy Opener Against Harvard, 3-2

Friday, September 25

Cambridge, Mass.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

4-6, 1-0Ivy

Harvard

4-7, 0-1Ivy

Dartmouth

Harvard

Big Green Volleyball Wins Ivy Opener Against Harvard, 3-2

9/25/2015 9:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Dartmouth volleyball opened its 14-match Ivy League slate on Friday evening with a huge 3-2 victory over Harvard (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) at Malkin Athletic Center. The Big Green improved to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in conference action, while the Crimson fell to 4-7 and 0-1 in Ivy play.

Senior Paige Caridi and freshman Sierra Lyle ended the match with double-doubles, with Caridi registering 13 kills and 13 digs and Lyle recording 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior Emily Astarita led the squad with 23 kills, while classmate Stacey Benton had 58 assists.

"I was so proud of the effort that our team brought to Harvard today," head coach Erin Lindsey said after the victory. "We know we are going to need to bring our best and make adjustments to contend and that is just what we were able to do tonight. Kaira Lujan had a huge match and our passers did a really good job keeping us in system. I look forward to us continuing to improve our defense and blocking, but at times tonight, we were really good on the defensive side of the ball as well."

The early parts of the first set were very close, with Dartmouth countering each point that Harvard scored and tying the score six times before the seventh point. The Big Green got its first lead following a Crimson error and the two teams continued this dance until Harvard, with an 10-9 edge, went on to score five straight points to take a 15-9 lead.

The Crimson got as far as nine points ahead (24-15), but were held at match point while the Green scored four straight off two Astarita kills, an ace by senior Kayden Cook and a Harvard error to get the visitors within five (24-19). Dartmouth's run was cut short, however, by a Crimson kill that ended the set.

Although Harvard won the first point of the second set, a three-point run by Dartmouth courtesy of two kills by senior Kaira Lujan and an ace from Lyle put the Big Green up, 6-5. The visitors would remain ahead until the end of the set, but only slightly, as the Crimson got within two points on more than one occasion. With a 21-19 advantage, the Green scored four unanswered points to end the set, capitalizing on two Harvard errors, a kill by Lyle and an ace from Astarita.

Dartmouth won the first two points of the third off a Harvard error and a kill by senior Allison Brady and, before long, had a 12-7 advantage. Five straight points on the other side of the net gave the Crimson its first lead of the set, a 15-14 edge. The Big Green tied the score twice more, at 15 and 16, before four straight Harvard points made it a 20-16 match.

The Green turned things around, winning six of the next seven points off four errors on the other side of the net, a kill by Caridi and an ace from Lujan to take a 22-21 advantage. The Crimson tied things at 22, but an error and a kill by Astarita put the Green at match point. Another Harvard error gave Dartmouth its second win of the night.

Dartmouth led for the majority of the fourth set until Harvard stole that lead with a three-point run to have a 16-15 edge. The home team scored five of the next six points, while only allowing a single kill by Lyle to make it 21-17. From there, Harvard would keep pulling closer to victory, but Dartmouth was right there to close the gap. With a score of 23-21, the Crimson made it to match point following a kill, but a Harvard error and a Caridi kill put Dartmouth just one behind (24-23). A well-timed Harvard kill ended the set.

There were seven ties before the seventh point in the fifth set, but Dartmouth took a four-point lead off consecutive Crimson errors and a pair of kills by Caridi to make it an 11-7 set. The Crimson upped the aggression and an error and a kill for Harvard put the home team just one behind at 13-12. Dartmouth was at match point following an error on the other side of the net, but a Crimson kill put the score within one once again. One more Harvard error handed the match to the Big Green.

The Big Green will host four Ivy matches in a row. Next Friday and Saturday, Penn and Princeton will come to town and, the following weekend, Dartmouth will take on Yale and Brown.