Dartmouth Outlasted by Harvard in Ivy League Opener

Friday, September 22

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-6,0-1Ivy League

Harvard

8-2,1-0Ivy League

Harvard

Dartmouth

Kauany Gutz ’26

Photo by: Chloe Broeker

Dartmouth Outlasted by Harvard in Ivy League Opener

9/22/2023 9:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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A set two surge wasn’t enough for the Big Green in a 3-1 defeat

By: Kyle Relf

HANOVER, N.H. — Despite an exciting second set comeback, the Dartmouth volleyball team fell in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19) to Harvard in the Ivy League opener on Friday evening at Leede Arena.

The Big Green moved to 3-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference action, and the Crimson improved to 8-2 with a 1-0 mark in the Ancient Eight.

Kauany Gutz led both sides with a career-high 16 kills, including six in the second set. Makenzie Arent entered the match needing 10 assists to move into the program's top five in career assists and delivered with 21 on the night. The fifth-year senior passed Kendall Houston '12 and now has 1,781 career assists as one of eight in Dartmouth history to reach quadruple digits. Fellow setter Karen Murphy recorded a double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs.

Kauany's feeling it! Team-high 12 kills for the sophomore ✅https://t.co/qNfchq5GA5 | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/ihzupCdnmt
— Dartmouth Volleyball (@DartmouthVBall) September 23, 2023

Harvard's Ashley Wang came just shy of a triple-double with 24 assists, nine kills and eight total blocks. Katie Vorheis and Brynne Faltinsky paced the Crimson offense with 12 kills apiece. Harvard hit .267 to Dartmouth's .116.

Dartmouth had a 16-14 edge in the opening set, but stumbled down the stretch, allowing a 4-0 Crimson run, to fall behind 18-16. A service error ended that run, but Harvard took charge once again with Katie Vorhies' kill. A pair of late Ellie Blain kills proved to be too little, too late to fend off the Ancient Eight rival. Blain's service error did in the Big Green, giving Harvard the early advantage.

Dartmouth appeared to be doomed in set two, facing an 18-11 deficit, but rallied for a lengthy 8-0 run to take a slight lead and flip momentum. Gutz's kill broke a 19-19 deadlock and Dartmouth didn't trail again, bolstered by kills from Emma Sinclair and Bomi Ogunlari. An attack error from Ashley Wang was the difference maker at set point. The Big Green's exciting eight-point spurt came with Valia Evangeliou at the service line and featured two Gutz kills, along with an Evangeliou ace.

The two sides were neck-and-neck throughout the third and eventually met at a 23-23 stalemate in a pivotal third set. Ariana White came through for Harvard with two crucial kills to seal the game. The Crimson looked to grow a lead earlier, holding an 18-14 edge, but the resurgent Big Green put together a three-point run with the help of Gutz and Ava Roberts. An Emma Engstrom ace tied the set, 19-19, and 3-0 runs were traded until Wang's kill had the visitors on top, 23-22. Arent's ace evened the score at 23-all before Harvard gained control.

The Crimson ran away with the fourth and final set after a 5-0 run propelled them to an 11-6 lead. Dartmouth eventually found itself trailing 20-11 and despite another attempt at a comeback with three straight kills from Amelia Gibbs, who went for an efficient nine kills (.389) in the match. Facing match point at 24-19, it was Gibbs' service error that sealed it for Harvard.

Dartmouth steps away from Ivy League play on Saturday, heading to New Hampshire for one final non-conference match at 6 p.m. Fans can tune in on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through DartmouthSports.com.