Beth
Kinsella is one of two Harvard players with over 100 assists on
the season (Gil Talbot).
The Particulars
The Harvard women's volleyball team continues its Ivy League
schedule as it welcomes Columbia and Cornell to the Malkin Athletic
Center this weekend. The Crimson is looking for its first league
win of the season after dropping a pair of matches to
Dartmouth.
The History
Harvard has had success against Columbia as the hosts hold
a 34-10 all-time edge against the Lions. The Crimson has captured
the last eight matches against the Lions, including 3-2 and 3-0
wins last season.
Cornell has proved to be a bit more of a challenge traditionally
for the Crimson, as the Big Red holds the all-time series lead at
30-16. However, in two matches last season, the Crimson tallied 3-1
and 3-0 victories to give it the first series sweep of the Big Red
since the 2002 season.
Last Time Out
In its second conference game of the season, the Crimson
rallied to capture the third set but Dartmouth proved to be too
strong as the Big Green earned a 3-1 win in Cambridge last Friday.
Anne
Carroll Ingersoll paced the Harvard attack with 10 kills and Teresa
Skelly totaled eight kills and four blocks, earning a mention
on the Ivy League Honor Roll for the week of Oct. 4.
The Crimson
After going 1-1 last week, Harvard stands at 3-11 on the
season and in search of its first Ancient Eight victory. Taylor
Docter remains Harvard's top hitter with 92 kills on the season
while Skelly leads the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.341) and
Ingersoll leads in kills per set (2.03).
Natalie
Doyle (224 assists) and Beth Kinsella (169 assists) have split
setting duties this season and are both averaging over five assists
per set. Defensive specialist Christine Wu tops
the team with 219 digs on the season, and stands in seventh place
in team annals with 1,078 career digs, and Skelly remains the top
blocker on the team with 38 total on the year.
Scouting Columbia
The Lions come into Friday's match with a 1-1 conference
schedule but the second-best non-league mark at 9-3 on the year.
The Lions won nine straight contests after dropping the first two
matches of the season, but lost to Cornell Oct. 2 in their last
match. Four players had 10 or more kills on the game and Madeline
Rumer collected eight total blocks in the 3-2 loss.
Megan Gaughn leads the Lions with 156 kills and 3.63 kills per
set and Rumer is second on the team with 92 kills. Colleen Brennan
leads the team with 286 assists on the year and is one of three
players on the roster with 11 service aces. Gaughn, Katherine
Keller and Cindy Chen all have over 100 digs on the season.
Scouting Cornell
Cornell brings a 3-8 overall record into the weekend and a
1-1 mark in conference play. After dropping its conference opener
to Columbia Sept. 25, the Big Red answered back with a 3-2 win over
the Lions in its last game. Cornell will face Dartmouth Oct. 8,
before taking on the Crimson the following day.
Kelly Hansen (111 kills), Janel Forte (87 kills) and Deveney
Pula (65 kills) are all averaging better than two kills per set on
the year, while setter Jordan Reeder ranks fifth in the league with
369 assists and an 8.20 assists per game average. Risa Ka'awa's 199
digs are tops on the team and Hansen paces the Big Red with 37
total blocks on the season.
Up Next for the Crimson
Harvard hits the road after this weekend to take on
Princeton (Oct. 15) and Penn (Oct. 16).
