Big Green Recover from 2-0 Deficit, but Fall to Crimson in Fifth Set

Friday, September 24

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

8-2,0-1Ivy League

Harvard

4-5,1-0Ivy League

Harvard

Dartmouth

Bomi Ogunlari (L) and Francesca Meldrum

Photo by: Risley Sports Photography

Big Green Recover from 2-0 Deficit, but Fall to Crimson in Fifth Set

9/24/2021 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photos Photo Gallery

Dartmouth volleyball crawled its way back from a 2-0 deficit, but could not hold off Harvard in the final set

By: Charlotte Brackett

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth volleyball came back from two dropped sets to force a fifth, but narrowly fell to Harvard, 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 11-15) in the Ivy League opener at Leede Arena on Friday evening.

Makenzie Arent had another double-double (22A, 14D), while Emma Engstrom led with 19 dig, Ellie Blain was first with 14 kills and 16 points, and Francesca Meldrum had a team-leading four total blocks.

"We had a great atmosphere here tonight," head coach Gilad Doron said. "We started very slow, but we showed grit and fight and crawled our way back into the game. We had a little lead in the fifth, but I have to give credit to Harvard. They hit better than us and they blocked better than us. We'll have to get back to work and try to win next weekend."

Dartmouth (8-2, 0-1) vs. Harvard (4-7, 1-0)
The teams were neck and neck in the first set, trading points and tying nine times until three in a row put the Crimson up by four (16-12). The Big Green cut into that lead with a kill by Piper Stevens and an ace by Bella Hedley, but Harvard didn't back down, furthering its lead (19-14). A 6-2 Dartmouth rally – finished off with a beast of a kill by Meldrum – brought the home team within one (22-21). The Green had another comeback bid, but the Crimson got there first (22-25).

Harvard was the stronger team at the start of the second set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Dartmouth slowly worked its way back and kills by Emma Moffet, Blain, Meldrum and Taite Ryan and an ace by Hedley gave the Green a 17-16 advantage. The Crimson weren't rolling over any time soon, and a six-point run on the other side of the net put the set in Harvard's hands (22-17). Dartmouth got two points closer before the visitors ended it (19-25).

There were more ties to begin the third set before a Crimson rally put them ahead, 11-7. Harvard remained four ahead until a huge kill by Bomi Ogunlari ended its run, but the visitors managed to increase their lead in search of their third-set victory (21-16). A massive 10-3 run made up of kills by Natalie Grover, Nicole Liddle and Blain, six Crimson errors and an Arent ace kept Dartmouth in the game (26-24).

The fourth was just as close as the other sets, with Harvard sitting just ahead (11-9). A kill by Blain and a Crimson error tied things up, and there was just one more tie before Dartmouth took a three-point lead off back-to-back Engstrom aces (15-12). Harvard worked its way back and, although the Big Green pulled ahead by two off kills by Liddle and Grover, the score was tied once again (20-20). Dartmouth got to set point but was held there while Harvard got within one (24-23). The home team got the point it needed to send the match to the fifth set (25-23).

It was anyone's game in the final set. With Dartmouth ahead, a 5-0 Harvard streak put it in front at a critical point in the set (10-7). Kills by Grover and Liddle put two more points on the board, but a pair on the other side of the net didn't allow Dartmouth to close the gap (12-9). Ogunlari snuck a huge kill in there, but it was Harvard that got to 15 first (11-15).

The Big Green will be on the road for four matches in a row, starting with Princeton and Penn next weekend.