Dartmouth Opens Ivy League Play Against Harvard

Dartmouth (6-4) vs. Harvard (2-7)
Date: Friday, September 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Leede Arena – Hanover, N.H.
Live Stats
Video

THIS WEEKEND
After concluding tournament play this past weekend, the Dartmouth volleyball team will open Ivy League action on Friday, taking on Harvard at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Green played their final non-conference matches at the West Virginia Invitational, falling to Akron, 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 17-25, 19-25), Winthrop, 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26) and WVU, 3-0 (22-25, 18-25, 20-25). The Green put a lot of pressure on their opponents throughout the invite, fighting back after dropped sets to make for close matches. Emily Astarita played well, ending the tournament with 24 kills, 19 digs, nine total blocks and 30 points. Corinne Cox also had a good weekend, racking up five aces and 12 digs.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Harvard enters the first weekend of conference play with a record of 2-7 after defeating Siena (3-0) to open the season and Boston College (3-2) over the weekend. Between those two victories, however, the Crimson dropped six straight matches to Georgia, Duke, Loyola Marymount, Arizona State, Pepperdine and New Hampshire, falling to Northeastern the day after taking down the Eagles.

LAST TIME AGAINST HARVARD
The Green went 1-1 against the Crimson last season, defeating them 3-2 in their first meeting in September before falling, 3-0, less than a month later. On Oct. 23, Dartmouth fell to Harvard at home (19-25, 17-25, 19-25), breaking the Big Green's five-match winning streak that had encompassed the entire month. Sierra Lyle and Astarita led the team with eight kills apiece, while both Kayden Cook and Stacey Benton had 13 assists. Zoe Leonard had 10 digs.

DORON AND COMPANY
The Big Green has a whole new look behind the bench this season. Gilad Doron is in his first year at the helm of the program after coaching at the University of San Francisco for nine years. Joining him in their first year as assistant coaches are Eyal Zimet and Tara Hittle.

CAPTAINS
The 21-player squad – made up of 16 returnees and five rookies – is led by Astarita and Lujan, who are both entering their final season on the court. So far this season, Astarita leads the team in kills (107) and attacking percentage (.245), is second in total blocks (28.0), third in service aces (7) and fourth in digs (66). Lujan is first among the Big Green in total blocks (36.0), and is second in kills (50) and attacking percentage (.209).

FRESH FACES
Making their collegiate debut this fall are Allie Carey, Cox, Abby Kott, Maddy Schoenberger and Carly Tower. There is a nice mixture of positions as two are middle blockers (Kott, Tower), one is a setter (Cox), one is an outsider hitter (Carey) and the last one is a defensive specialist (Schoenberger).

IN THE CONFERENCE
Even though conference play has not yet begun, Dartmouth is doing well among its Ancient Eight opponents:

Opponent hitting percentage – 1st (.136)
Assists – 5th (365, 10.74/set)
Kills – 5th (398, 11.71/set)
Blocks – 3rd (74.0, 2.18/set)
Service Aces/Set – 2nd (53, 1.56/set)
Digs – 3rd (507, 14.97/set)

Individually, the Big Green have a number of players near the top in a handful of categories:

Kills – Astarita, 2nd (107)
Kills/Set – Astarita, 2nd (3.15)
Service Aces/Set – Cox, 2nd (0.44)
Total Blocks – Lujan, 2nd (36.0)
Total Blocks – Kott, 4th (27.0)
Blocks/Set – Lujan, 2nd (1.12)
Blocks/Set – Kott, 4th (1.00)
Digs – Lau, 7th (103)
Digs/Set – Lau, 7th (3.22)

CAN'T BE THERE?
Live stats for the match can be found on DartmouthSports.com. Subscribers to the Ivy League Digital Network can also watch the event online. For updates on the Big Green, go to the team's new official Twitter handle: @DartmouthVBall.

NEXT UP FOR DARTMOUTH
The Big Green will be on the road for four straight matches, starting with Penn and Princeton next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30 – Oct. 1.

Schedules