Dartmouth Drops Matches to Winthrop and WVU

Saturday, September 17

Morgantown, W.V.

10:00 AM

Dartmouth College

6-3

Winthrop

7-6

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Dartmouth	21	25	21	24	1
Winthrop	25	18	25	26	3

9/17/2016 11:56:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On day two of the West Virginia Invitational, the Dartmouth volleyball team dropped both of its matches, falling to Winthrop, 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26) and the host Mountaineers (22-25, 18-25, 20-25).

The Big Green are now 6-4 as they conclude tournament play and prepare for Ivy League contests, which will begin next weekend.

"I think we learned a lot as a team this weekend and it should help us be better prepared for conference play starting next week," head coach Gilad Doron said. "We were challenged by different styles of play with each opponent, but I liked some of the things we did and the adjustments we made as a unit."

Senior Emily Astarita was named All-Tournament at the conclusion of the weekend.

DARTMOUTH VS. WINTHROP
The Big Green seniors led the way in a number of categories: Astarita had nine kills, Danielle Glinka had a .429 hitting percentage and Julia Lau ended up with 12 digs. Freshman Corinne Cox also performed well, finishing with three service aces and 12 assists, while sophomore Zoe Leonard had a team-leading 19 assists.

After winning the first point off a kill by Astarita, the Eagles took the next three and would remain ahead for the remainder of the set, although the Big Green put pressure on their opponent the entire time. With Winthrop ahead, 21-14, Dartmouth won the next two points off a Winthrop error and an ace by sophomore Zoe Leonard to get within five (21-16). After the Eagles got to game point, the Green held them there for two points following a pair of Winthrop errors, but the other team got the last point it needed to take the first set (25-21).

Dartmouth came back from a first-set loss to take the second in convincing fashion. Staying within a point of each other for the first six points, the Green went on a five-point run after three Winthrop errors, an Astarita kill and an ace by Glinka to pull comfortably ahead (11-6). From there, Dartmouth went on an 8-2 run to put 10 points between it and Winthrop (19-9). The Eagles would take nine of the next 15 points, but it was not enough; a kill by senior Kaira Lujan shut the set down (25-18).

The third set was very back and forth and could have been won by either team. Freshman Abby Kott's kill gave the first point to Dartmouth, but three straight points on the other side of the net put Winthrop ahead (3-1). Trailing by two (9-7), the Big Green went on a six-point run following kills by Astarita (1), Lujan (1), sophomore Samantha Bozoian (1) and junior Sara Lindquist (1), and an ace by Astarita (13-9), but the Eagles got five of their own to steal the lead (14-13). The two teams would tie three more times before Winthrop pulled ahead, keeping the lead to win the set (25-21).

With the Eagles sporting a 7-3 advantage in the fourth set, Dartmouth scored three points in a row off a kill by senior Emily Patrick and two Winthrop errors to make it a one-point set (7-6). Although the other team remained ahead for most of the set, the Big Green were always just behind. Trailing, 21-17, an Eagle error, an ace by Cox and a kill by Glinka put Dartmouth just one behind once again (21-20). After another point for the Eagles, the Green tied the score at 22-all and again at 23-23. A kill by Lujan gave Dartmouth its first lead and made it game point (24-23), but two Winthrop kills made it 25-24 in the Eagles' favor. One more kill gave the set and the match to Winthrop (26-24).

DARTMOUTH VS. WEST VIRGINIA
Astarita led with her nine kills, while Cox had 15 assists and Glinka had a team-leading 10 digs.

A Mountaineer error put the first point in the Big Green's hands and, although WVU won the next two, Dartmouth would win four straight off a pair of errors on the other side of the net and an ace and kill by Glinka to sport a 5-2 lead. Three points for WVU tied the score at 5-5 and the home team would remain ahead – albeit only by a point or two – for the next few points. With Dartmouth trailing, 10-9, a kill by Astarita and two errors by the Mountaineers put the Green back ahead (12-10). Dartmouth was able to keep its lead until WVU tied the score at 22-all, and from there, the home team scored three more times to take the first set (25-22).

Lujan's kill gave Dartmouth a 1-0 lead, but a kill of its own by WVU gave the lead to the other team, which is where it would remain for the rest of the second set. Trailing by three (11-8), the Green got within one point off two errors by the Mountaineers (11-10). With the score at 24-16, a kill by Lujan and an error on the other side of the net put Dartmouth within six points (24-18), but WVU got its 25th point to win its second set of the night (25-18).

As it had done for the previous two sets, the first point went in the Big Green's favor. But, after that, WVU went on a 10-1 run, giving the Mountaineers a 10-2 advantage. Trailing by a score of 17-7, the Green completely turned things around by winning the next nine consecutive points off kills by junior Morgan Dressel (1), Astarita (1), Glinka (3), an ace by Cox and three WVU errors to put Dartmouth within one (17-16). The Mountaineers got one more point to pull two ahead, but a pair of Astarita kills tied the score at 19-all. Two of the next three points went to Dartmouth and the Green got their first lead of the set (20-19), but the home team scored the next six points to win the match (25-20).

Dartmouth will open conference play next Friday, Sept. 23, when it hosts a single match against Harvard at 7 p.m.