Dartmouth Dominates Holy Cross, Falls to UC Irvine

Saturday, September 3

Irvine, Calif. / Bren Events Center

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-0,0-0Ivy League

Holy Cross

1-6,0-0Patriot

Holy Cross

Dartmouth

Emma Engstrom ’25

Photo by: Robert Huskey

Dartmouth Dominates Holy Cross, Falls to UC Irvine

9/4/2022 12:28:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Holy Cross Box Score (PDF)UC Irvine Box Score (PDF)Highlights vs. UC Irvine

The Big Green split two matches on the final day of the UCI Invitational

By: Kyle Relf

IRVINE, Calif. — The Dartmouth volleyball team split the final day of the UCI Invitational, cruising to a three-set victory over Holy Cross before falling in straight sets to UC Irvine Saturday at the Bren Events Center

Emma Engstrom and Amelia Gibbs received All-Tournament honors following the final match. Engstrom totaled 51 digs and 11 assists across three matches, while Gibbs amassed 20 kills and a .395 hitting percentage between the two action-packed days. Gibbs also tied Bomi Ogunlari for the team-lead in blocks with 9.0.

"We grew as a team and have a much better understanding of what we need to work on this week to be better next weekend and in the future," head coach Gilad Doron said. "I'm very proud of the unity and the trust we see starting to build on and off the court."

DARTMOUTH 3, HOLY CROSS 0

The Big Green (2-1) rolled to a three-set win over Holy Cross in the first of two matches on the final day of the UCI Invitational. Freshman Kauany Gutz led a balanced offensive attack with seven kills, while Piper Stevens and Gibbs followed with five apiece. Dartmouth posted a season-best .363 hitting percentage while Holy Cross (1-6) was held to just a .066 clip. The Big Green surpassed .360 in the statistical category once in the 2021 season – something the 2022 squad was able to accomplish in only the second match of the season.

Dartmouth set the tone early, overcoming a back-and-forth start to claim a 25-12 victory in the opening set. Holy Cross led 7-6 early, but Dartmouth claimed seven of the next eight points to take control. Later an eight-point run would further sink the Crusaders. Gutz notched back-to-back kills as part of that set-securing streak before Karen Murphy's ace – one of three for Dartmouth in the first set – cemented the Big Green's early advantage.

It was more Big Green domination in the second set as they cruised to a 25-8 triumph. An 11-point run, highlighted by kills from Gutz, Gibbs, Molly Power and Stevens, gave Dartmouth a commanding 23-6 lead in the set. A few Crusader miscues ended the set and sent Dartmouth into the third looking for its first three-set victory of the season.

The Big Green had little issue closing out their first match of the day in set three. After grabbing the first six points, Doron's squad eventually rolled past the Crusaders 25-15. Power led the offensive charge for Dartmouth as she notched three of her four total kills in the third set.

UC IRVINE 3, DARTMOUTH 0

Following the dominant win over Holy Cross, Dartmouth dropped a three-setter to the hosts in the final match of the UCI Invitational. Once again a freshman led the Big Green in kills – this time it was Ava Roberts with eight. Tournament MVP Onye Ofoegbu paced UC Irvine with 18 kills, hitting .571 on the match.

Dartmouth refused to go away in the neck-and-neck first set, but ultimately succumbed to the hosts. After facing a 10-3 deficit early on, Ellie Blain and Gibbs notched back-to-back kills to shift the momentum in the Big Green's favor, enough so that Dartmouth claimed seven of the next nine points. UC Irvine (4-2) briefly regained its momentum and traded points with the Big Green until Emma Spindt's kill gave set one to the Anteaters.

UC Irvine controlled play through the majority of the second set, eventually taking a 25-12 victory. Dartmouth earned the first two points for a promising start to the set, but four straight Anteater kills put the hosts on top and though Dartmouth occasionally looked primed to turn the tides with strong attacks from Gutz and Wiczek, the powerful UC Irvine offense proved too much to overcome.

The third set featured back-and-forth action, especially late with a 23-23 tie, but UC Irvine escaped the suspenseful ending and finished the sweep. The Big Green found themselves trailing 22-18, but battled back with a quick four-point run that featured kills by Blain and Murphy to draw even 22-22. A kill by Ofoegbu later put the Anteaters on top 24-23 and a ball handling error would be the Big Green's backbreaker.

"I was proud of the way we responded in the third set," Doron said. "We were able to tie the set at 23 with solid blocking and smart decisions."

The Big Green return home Friday, Sept. 9 for the Dartmouth Invitational. The first day of the tournament at Leede Arena kicks off with Lehigh taking on Hartford at 10:30 a.m. and the Big Green take the court at 1 p.m. to face Siena and later battle Lehigh at 6:30 p.m.