Volleyball Pushes Unbeaten Harvard to Five Sets Behind Career Night from Imamura

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Dartmouth volleyball team took previously unbeaten Harvard to the brink on Saturday, pushing the Ivy League's last undefeated team to five sets before falling, 3-2 (30-28, 25-21, 25-27, 16-25, 15-9), at the Malkin Athletic Center. Harvard survives to move to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in Ivy League play, while Dartmouth falls to 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference play.

Riley Imamura turned in a career night across the board, setting new career highs with 18 kills, 23.5 points, 19 digs and six total blocks in a workhorse, five-set effort. Zori Brown was right there with her, matching Imamura's 18 kills while setting career highs of her own with 19.5 points and three total blocks. Elle McCreery added 10 kills on a match-best .421 hitting clip and three service aces for 16.0 points, Sophia Gagnepain and Julia York combined for 52 assists running the offense, and Maddie LaFata chipped in nine kills.

The match was every bit the battle the box score suggests: Dartmouth actually out-hit Harvard .209 to .18 for the match, but the Crimson found just enough in the biggest moments, winning two extra-point sets and closing strong in the fifth, to escape with the win.

The first set was an instant classic. The two teams traded the lead deep into the 20s, tying the score nine different times, and Dartmouth had set point at 24-23 before Harvard clawed back to tie it. From there neither team could pull away, as the set was tied at 25, 26, 27 and 28, until Harvard finally converted back-to-back points to escape with a 30-28 win in the longest set of the match.

The Crimson took control of the second, building a cushion behind a string of Ali Farquhar kills and pulling away in the second half of the set. Dartmouth trimmed the deficit late, as McCreery served an ace and Brown added a kill to make it a two-possession game, but couldn't complete the comeback, falling 25-21 to go down two sets to none.

Dartmouth delivered its best set of the match in the third, and needed every bit of it. The Big Green trailed 19-22 in the closing stretch before ripping off a mini-rally, capped by an Imamura service ace that tied it at 24, and pushed through extra points before McCreery sealed it with a block-aided kill and a service ace to close out a dramatic 27-25 win and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Dartmouth carried the momentum into the fourth and dominated. Raeli Smith served the Big Green out to an early cushion, and Imamura kept piling on kills throughout the set while McCreery added more at the net. Dartmouth never let Harvard threaten, closing out a lopsided 25-16 win to force a decisive fifth set.

Harvard shut the door in the fifth. The Crimson jumped out to an 8-1 lead behind a run of kills from Ali Farquhar and never let Dartmouth fully recover; the Big Green got as close as five points but couldn't find the run it needed, and Harvard closed out the match, 15-9.

Up Next Dartmouth continues Ivy League play Friday, Oct. 9, at 6:00 p.m., when the Big Green travels to face Cornell.

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