Big Green Host Tigers and Quakers on Homecoming Weekend

Friday, October 28: Dartmouth (8-11, 1-7) vs. Princeton (14-3, 8-0)
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
Live Stats
ILDN

Saturday, October 29: Dartmouth vs. Penn (8-12, 3-5)
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
Live Stats
ILDN

THIS WEEKEND
Now in the second half of Ivy League play, the Dartmouth volleyball team will to return to Leede Arena to host Princeton – which is number one in the conference – on Friday and Penn the following day. After this weekend, just four matches remain on the schedule for the 2016 season.

LAST TIME OUT
Starting over at the beginning of the Ivy schedule, the Big Green volleyball team played just one match over the weekend, falling to Harvard by a score of 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 21-25) on the road. Zoe Leonard had her fourth double-double in a row, ending up with a team-leading 20 assists and 10 digs. Emily Astarita had 12 kills and classmate Danielle Glinka recorded 18 digs.

Harvard took control of the first set early on by winning 10 of the first 15 points – eight of which were consecutive – to lead Dartmouth, 10-5. The Big Green and the Crimson traded points until the visitors took the lead after a five-point run thanks to two aces by Leonard, a kill by Carly Tower and two Harvard errors (16-14). The home team scored four more in a row to make it 18-17 in its favor but a 9-3 run by Dartmouth – ending with a kill by Sara Lindquist – gave the first set to the Big Green (25-21).

Tower's pair of kills to start the second set gave Dartmouth a small lead and, after going back-and-forth, the Big Green had a 12-8 advantage. Six straight points put Harvard back on top (14-12), which is where it would stay for the remainder of the set. Kills by Glinka and Astarita at the end put Dartmouth two points closer, but a Crimson kill gave one set to each team (25-21).

The third set was incredibly close right until the last point. It looked as if Harvard was going to easily win when it was leading, 21-13, but when 10 of the next 13 points when in Dartmouth's favor, things became a whole lot more interesting. With the score at 24-19, the Big Green won four in row off three Harvard errors and a kill by Glinka to get within one (24-23). Before Dartmouth could tie the score, the home team got its final kill (25-23).

The Big Green won the first two points of the fourth set and, before long, had a 9-5 edge. The Crimson took the lead following a five-point run and there were five more ties before the end of the set. With Dartmouth ahead, 20-19, Harvard had another 5-0 run to make it match point (24-20). Kaira Lujan added a kill to get one point closer, but a Green error ended the match (25-21).

SCOUTING PRINCETON
The Tigers enter the weekend with an overall record of 14-3 and are first in the conference with an 8-0 mark. Princeton has not dropped a set since Sept. 24, when it opened Ivy play against Penn and the match went to five sets. Since then, the Tigers have won each of the next seven matches in straight sets and are currently on a 12-match winning streak. Senior Cara Mattaliano just recorded her 1,000th career kill.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE TIGERS
Just over three weeks ago, Dartmouth dropped a three-set decision to Princeton (18-25, 16-25, 19-25) on the road. Lujan led the Big Green with nine kills, while both Leonard and Corinne Cox had 16 assists apiece. Jordan Cornwell had 13 digs and two of the team's four service aces.

SCOUTING PENN
The Quakers are tied for fifth in the league with an 8-12 overall mark and 3-5 in conference action. Penn was on a three-match losing streak before picking up a three-set win against Brown a couple weekends ago. The Quakers started the second part of their season with a loss to Princeton.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE QUAKERS
On Sept. 30, Dartmouth fought to send the match to a fifth set, but ultimately fell to Penn, 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 13-25, 11-15). The last time the Big Green won two sets against the Quakers was on Oct. 29, 2011. Astarita had a double-double with her 12 kills and 12 digs, while Glinka and Leonard both ended the night with 18 digs.

IN THE CONFERENCE
Here is how Dartmouth is ranked against its Ancient Eight opponents:
Opponent hitting percentage – 2nd (.173)
Blocks – 3rd (140.0)
Blocks/Set – 3rd (2.03)
Service Aces – 2nd (97)
Service Aces/Set – 3rd (1.41)
Digs – 2nd (1092)
Digs/Set – 5th (15.83)

Individually, the Big Green have a handful of players near the top in a number of categories:
Kills – Astarita, T3rd (202)
Kills/Set – Astarita, 4th (2.93)
Service Aces – Cox, T4th (23)
Service Aces/Set – Cox, 6th (0.34)
Total Blocks – Lujan, 1st (72.0)
Blocks/Set – Lujan, 2nd (1.07)
Digs – Glinka, 7th (204)
Digs/Set – Glinka, 10th (3.19)

FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats will be available on DartmouthSports.com. Those who subscribe to the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) can also watch the matches online. For updates on the team, follow Dartmouth's new official twitter: @DartmouthVBall.

NEXT UP FOR THE BIG GREEN
Dartmouth will host Princeton and Penn over Homecoming weekend, Oct. 28-29. Both matches will take place at 5 p.m.

Schedules