Volleyball Opens Season at Morgan State/Towson Invitational

Makenzie Arent ’23

Photo by: Robert Huskey

Volleyball Opens Season at Morgan State/Towson Invitational

8/30/2023 12:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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A three-match slate in Maryland awaits the Big Green, who look to build on a strong 2022 campaign

By: Kyle Relf

MATCH 1
Dartmouth (0-0) vs. Temple (3-0, 0-0 American)
Date: Friday, Sept. 1 | 1 p.m.
Location: Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House
All-Time Series: First meeting

MATCH 2
Dartmouth (0-0) at Morgan State (0-3, 0-0 MEAC)
Date: Friday, Sept. 1 | 6 p.m.
Location: Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House
All-Time Series: First meeting

MATCH 3
Dartmouth (0-0) at Towson (1-1, 0-0 CAA)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 2 | 12 p.m.
Location: Towson, Md. | SECU Arena
All-Time Series: 0-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 25, 1997 (3-1, Towson)

BUILDING ON 2022
Dartmouth has all the tools to further its momentum following a successful 2022 season, which included the highest win total (16) since 2011. The Big Green return 80.4% of their point production from a season ago, including each of their four points-per-set leaders in Ellie Blain (3.53), Bomi Ogunlari (2.55), Amelia Gibbs (2.42) and Ava Roberts (2.40). Blain and Ogunlari received All-Ivy Second Team recognition and Gibbs was an honorable mention,

RECORD BOOK UPDATES
Bomi Ogunlari etched her name in the program record book with 97.0 total blocks, the most in a single season by any Big Green player. The senior from Rockwall, Texas also tied Tola Akinwumi (2018) for most blocks per set in a season with 1.18. Amelia Gibbs has made a name for herself as one of the most efficient hitters in the Ivy League and after hitting .348 in 2021, Gibbs was even more effective in 2022 at .356. Those two marks rank second and third in single-season program history behind Annie Villanueva's .372 clip from the 2011 season. Fifth-year setter Makenzie Arent ranks seventh among all current and former Big Green players with 1,606 career assists and is one of eight with at least 1,000.

KEY DEPARTURES
Dartmouth features plenty of returning talent but will need to replace some important pieces. Most notably, Grace Wiczek ranked third in the team in kills per set last season and is now a graduate transfer at George Washington and has 18 kills through two matches with the Colonials. Do-it-all outside hitter Taite Ryan was second on the team in digs per set (2.66) and added 1.59 points per set in 2022. Ryan, along with classmate Ali Silva, helped Dartmouth rank among the top 25 nationally in aces per set last season with 17 and nine aces, respectively.

WELCOME, COACH CAMPBELL
Kevin Maureen Campbell was hired as the fourth head coach in program history June 2023 after serving as the interim head coach for one season at VCU. She was previously an assistant coach at NC State and San Diego State following a five-year stint as the head coach at North Florida, where she guided the Ospreys through their transition to Division I in 2011. Dartmouth head coaches are a perfect 3-0 in their Big Green debuts (Ann Marie Larese in 1994, Erin Lindsey in 2011 and Gilad Doron in 2016).

UNFAMILIAR FOES
Of the three weekend opponents, Towson is the only one the Big Green have seen before in their nearly 30 years as a funded varsity program. Dartmouth and Towson met on Oct. 25, 1997 and a four-set decision sided with the Tigers. Friday marks the first-ever meeting between Dartmouth and both Temple and Morgan State.

SATURDAY'S TEST
Towson, the four-time defending champion of the CAA, is sure to present an early-season test for the Big Green. The Tigers faced one Ancient Eight team last year in Princeton, the eventual No. 2 seed in the Ivy League Tournament, and earned a four-set victory. Towson ranked among the top five nationally in both blocks per set and opponent hitting percentage in 2022.

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Big Green are in action at Leede Arena for the first time in 2023 as they host the Dartmouth Invitational, which welcomes Stonehill, Seton Hall and Hofstra to Hanover. The three-match homestand begins Friday, Sept. 8 as Dartmouth takes on Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m.