Women's Volleyball Announces 2010 Schedule

The Crimson opens its 2010 season by hosting the Harvard Invitational (Gil Talbot).

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women’s volleyball team has announced its 2010 schedule, featuring 26 total contests and 10 home matches. Harvard looks to improve on its 2009 record of 12-13 which represented the highest win total for the Crimson in four years.

The Crimson begins its 2010 campaign by hosting the Harvard Invitational, a five-team tournament that will take place Sept. 3-4. Harvard opens its season against Eastern Illinois Sept. 3 and rounds out the opening tournament with matches against Bryant and Boston College the following day. From there, the Crimson will play four matches in two days at the Fordham Invitational Sept. 10-11, squaring off against Rider, Stony Brook, Syracuse and host Fordham.

“We look forward to kicking off the season with our Harvard Invitational, especially the opportunity to challenge our neighbors from across the river, Boston College,” said head coach Jen Weiss. “Our preseason affords us the opportunity to compete against many high level opponents which will prepare us for Ivy League play.”

A midweek matchup at Holy Cross Sept. 14 precedes Harvard’s third tournament of the fall as the Crimson takes on Marquette, Northwestern and Charlotte at the Northwestern Invitational Dept. 17-18.

Conference play begins on the road as the Crimson faces Dartmouth Sept. 24 in Hanover and again in Cambridge Oct. 1, after a non-conference showdown at New Hampshire Sept. 28. Columbia and Cornell come to Cambridge Oct. 8 and 9, respectively, before the Crimson hits the road the following weekend for matches at Princeton and Penn. Harvard returns home for matches against Yale (Oct. 22) and Brown (Oct. 23) before beginning a four-game road stretch where it will face Cornell (Oct. 29), Columbia (Oct. 30), Brown (Nov. 5) and Yale (Nov. 6). The Crimson wraps up the regular season with home contests against Penn and Princeton, Nov. 12 and 13, respectively.

“There is always a lot of parity in the Ivy League,” said Weiss. “However, with the incoming freshman and the experience of the upperclassmen, we will be prepared to fight for the Ivy title.”

Harvard aims to surpass the .500 mark this season and maintain its upward trend in conference actions, after going 8-6 in Ivy League action last year.