Big Green Defeat Bulldogs in Dramatic Five-Setter

Friday, November 12

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

15-7,7-6Ivy League

Yale

15-7,8-5Ivy League

Yale

Dartmouth

Sophomore Ellie Blain

Photo by: John and Matt Risley

Big Green Defeat Bulldogs in Dramatic Five-Setter

11/12/2021 9:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Dartmouth volleyball downed Yale for the first time since 2015

By: Charlotte Brackett

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth volleyball opened its final weekend of competition with a 3-2 defeat of Yale (25-10, 23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-8) at Leede Arena on Friday evening.

This is the first time since 2015 that the Big Green have taken down the Bulldogs, who were tied for second in the conference when they came into the match and have now slipped to third. Dartmouth has moved up to tie with Harvard for fourth.

Four players had double-doubles: Makenzie Arent (48A, 18D), Ellie Blain (14K, 10D), Taite Ryan (17D, 13K) and Nicole Liddle (15D, 11K).

"I think this was a really great college match tonight," head coach Gilad Doron said. "We started really well with a new rotation and I thought the team came prepared. It was tough after game four, but the team never looked back and jumped out in the fifth. We had a great contribution from everyone. It was a great team effort all around. It's awesome to beat Yale here and show that we are moving in the right direction. I'm really proud of the team and how we fought and hopefully we can get another tomorrow for the seniors."

Dartmouth (15-7, 7-6) vs. Yale (15-7, 8-5)
A 10-point run from kills by Ryan, Blain and Emma Moffet gave the Big Green a huge boost in the first set (13-2). The next six points were split evenly between the teams, but that still left a large gap between them (16-5). A 6-2 rally off kills by Arent, Amelia Gibbs and Liddle got Dartmouth four points away from victory while still holding the Bulldogs to single digits (21-7). A kill by Liddle got the Green to set point, while one more by Ryan ended the set (25-10).

Yale found its way into the game in set two and soon sported a 9-7 advantage. Beautiful kills by Liddle and Blain kept Dartmouth close, but the home team couldn't seem to pass the Bulldogs (11-13). Points were traded back and forth, and some Yale errors and a block assist from Blain and Gibbs finally tied things up (19-19). Three in a row for the visitors had them three points from winning (19-22), but a 4-1 Dartmouth run made up of kills by Blain and Gibbs and two Bulldog errors tied the score at 23-all. Yale won the last two points (23-25).

Trailing by two in the third set, a 10-1 run from kills by Gibbs and Blain and aces by Ryan and Blain put the Green up (13-6). The Bulldogs won nine of the next 12 points to get within one (16-15). Back-to-back blocks – the first by Moffet and Ryan, the second by Moffet and Blain – gave Dartmouth more of an edge, but four straight for the Bulldogs gave them the lead (18-19). Apparently not for long though, as two Yale errors and a huge kill by Ryan made it 21-19 in the Green's favor. A kill by Moffet made it a 2-1 match (25-22).

There were a whole bunch of ties to start the fourth until a 7-0 Bulldog rally gave the visitors some breathing room (6-13). The next 10 points went equally to each team, but Yale still had a comfortable lead (11-18). The Green had a small run at the end, adding kills by Liddle, Francesca Meldrum and Ryan, before the Bulldogs sent the match to the fifth set (19-25).

Yale won the first point of the extra set but kills by Blain and Gibbs and three Bulldog errors gave Dartmouth a 5-1 advantage. The Big Green kept the ball rolling and soon had a 10-4 edge thanks to kills by Gibbs and a block assist from Gibbs and Arent. A 5-4 run at the end – capped by kills by Meldrum and Gibbs – handed the win to Dartmouth (15-8).

The Big Green will end the 2021 season on Saturday against Ivy League champion Brown. Dartmouth will honor its four seniors before the match.