Dartmouth Outlasted by Harvard in Five-Setter

Saturday, October 21

Cambridge, Mass. / Malkin Athletic Center

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

6-11,3-5Ivy League

Harvard

12-5,5-3Ivy League

Dartmouth

Harvard

Piper Stevens volleyball action versus Yale

Piper Stevens ’25

Photo by: Kyle Relf

Dartmouth Outlasted by Harvard in Five-Setter

10/21/2023 8:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Big Green were on the cusp in set four, but were unable to hold off the Ivy League’s best blocking team

By: Kyle Relf

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Beginning the second half of Ivy League play, the Dartmouth volleyball team battled Harvard, seeking to avenge a late-September loss and looked primed to do so with a slight lead late in fourth set, but instead succumbed to the Crimson in five on Saturday at Malkin Athletic Complex.

Dartmouth dropped to 6-11 and 3-5 in the Ivy League while Harvard improved to 12-5 and 5-3 in the Ancient Eight following the 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-21, 15-5) victory.

The Big Green claimed the opening set and responded to a set two loss by winning a close third, thanks in part to late kills by Ellie Blain and Amelia Gibbs, and were ahead late in the fourth, but Harvard's blocking was a catalyst in the Crimson comeback.

Gibbs led a balanced Big Green offense with 13 kills, while Blain followed with nine. Emma Engstrom, Kauany Gutz, Piper Stevens, Karen Murphy and Makenzie Arent each recorded double-digit digs. Karen Murphy led a duo of setters with 24 assists. Molly Power put up a career-high six total blocks.

Harvard's Ashley Wang, who entered the match ranking second in the nation in triple doubles this season, has another to her credit with 23 assists, 16 digs and 10 total blocks. Her preferred target was Katie Vorhies, who notched a match-high 15 kills. Both sides hit less than .200 and the Crimson, who lead the Ivy League and ranks among the nation's top 25 in blocks per set, had multiple players with double-digit total blocks as Ryleigh Patterson joined Wang with 13.

Dartmouth picked up five of the last six points of the first set, including a kill and two blocks by Gibbs, to gain the early advantage. Tied 20-20 in the second, it was Harvard that made the late push in the form of a 4-0 run to emerge victorious.

In a third set where both teams hit less than .100, Dartmouth raced to a 14-5 edge only to see its lead evaporate when a 5-0 Harvard run tied the game, 16-16. With the Crimson leading 25-24 and the Big Green facing set point, Power and Blain came up with a clutch block before consecutive Blain and Gibbs kills sealed the victory.

Looking to end it in four, Dartmouth had a 20-19 lead in the ensuing set after stringing together kills from Blain and Stevens. The Crimson used a trio of blocks to come away with six of the next seven points with only a Blain kill keeping the hosts from a 7-0 run. The match was all but over when Harvard rolled to a 10-2 lead in the fifth set. The Crimson would hit .471 in the deciding match to seal the season sweep of the Big Green.

Saturday marked the end of a three-match road stretch as Dartmouth returns home Friday, Oct. 27 to host Columbia at 7 p.m. Fans can tune into the ESPN+ broadcast featuring Brandon Bojarsky, and live stats will be available through DartmouthSports.com.