Dartmouth Defeats Sacred Heart in Season Opener

Friday, September 2

Irvine, Calif. / Bren Events Center

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

1-0,0-0Ivy League

Sacred Heart

1-3,0-0NEC

Dartmouth

Sacred Heart

Volleyball celebrates the season-opening win over Sacred Heart.

Photo by: Robert Huskey

Dartmouth Defeats Sacred Heart in Season Opener

9/2/2022 7:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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The Big Green dropped the first set, but stormed back to claim the 3-1 victory

By: Kyle Relf

IRVINE, Calif. — The Dartmouth volleyball team opened its season with a 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart on the first day of the UCI Invitational at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center Friday night. The Big Green dropped the first set, but claimed the ensuing three to defeat the three-time defending Northeast Conference champion.

"That was an exciting match and a great first win for our team," said head coach Gilad Doron. "I'm so proud of everyone who fulfilled their roles today both on and off the court. It was a great team effort and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's matches to see how we continue to learn and grow as a team."

Ellie Blain led Dartmouth with 19 kills, just two shy of a career-high, registering a .245 hitting percentage. Makenzie Arent tallied 31 assists, while Emma Engstrom notched 20 digs. Blain had the Big Green's lone double-double as she added 16 digs to her nearly-20 kills. Dartmouth (1-0) hit at a .214 clip to Sacred Heart's .186. Leading the Pioneers (1-3) was Camryn Luginbuhl, who earned a double-double with 16 digs and 13 kills.

Dartmouth led early in the first set, racing to a 10-2 advantage, but eventually dropped the back-and-forth opener 25-23 after Sacred Heart's late run. The Big Green claimed the first five points of the set, capped by Taite Ryan's ace. The Pioneers were on the board following a service error and despite trailing by as many as eight, they battled back until the two sides reached a 19-19 stalemate. Dartmouth broke the tie with a kill by Natalie Grover and tallied another point with a Sacred Heart attack error, but a 21-21 tie would soon follow. The Pioneers took four of the next six points to emerge victorious.

In the second set, the Big Green once again controlled play early, but this time would fend off the Pioneers' comeback attempt. Eventually topping Sacred Heart 25-19, Dartmouth earned its first lead of the set at 3-2 with Blain's kill and wouldn't let go. The resurgent Pioneers battled back to bring the score within three points at 22-19, but kills by Grace Wiczek, Bomi Ogunlari and Ryan would close the set and draw Dartmouth even in the match. The Big Green upped their hitting percentage from .186 in the first set to .303 in the second.

Dartmouth would face a 17-10 deficit in the third set, but Amelia Gibbs' kill followed by a Sacred Heart attack error helped Dartmouth tie and take the lead, 21-20. The Pioneers answered with Luginbuhl's kill, but back-to-back successful attacks by Ryan and Ava Roberts gave the Big Green a 23-21 lead. Later clinging to a 24-23 lead, Grover's kill gave the third set to Dartmouth.

The two sides were neck-and-neck in the fourth set that featured eight ties. A kill by Blain and a Roberts ace put the Big Green on top 17-15 – a lead they wouldn't surrender. Dartmouth soon led by four after back-to-back kills by Grover and Gibbs. Ogunlari's kill put the finishing touches on the season-opening victory as the Big Green claimed the fourth set 25-21.

Dartmouth is set to take on Holy Cross Saturday at 5 p.m. EST and later UC Irvine at 10 p.m. EST.

Notes: Dartmouth avenged 2021's four-set loss to Sacred Heart in the Hartford Invitational. Today's victory broke a 4-4 tie in the all-time series. The Big Green have now won three consecutive season openers.