WASHINGTON, D.C. – Opening the Howard Invitational with two-straight matches today, the Harvard women's volleyball team split its contests against No. 13 Oregon (8-1, 0-0) and Howard (3-8, 0-0). The Crimson began the day in a battle with Oregon, fighting back to force a fifth set before falling 3-2. Harvard concluded the day with a 3-1 win over Howard to move to 2-6 overall on the season.
 
Harvard vs. No. 13 Oregon
Harvard nearly knocked off Oregon in its first match of the day after overcoming a two-set deficit. Starting the match down 2-0, Harvard rallied to tie the match at 2-2 and force a decisive fifth set and challenged Oregon to extra points. The Crimson ultimately fell to the Ducks 3-2 by set scores of 14-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 14-16.
 
Three Crimson players recorded double-digit kills in today's battle. Sophomore Katie Vorhies led the way with 16 kills, while junior co-captain Jaimie Rao tallied 15 and sophomore Ashley Wang matched her career-high 13. Wang registered her fifth double-double of the season, dishing out 25 assists. First-year Rocky Aguirre split duties with Wang, posting 21 helpers.
 
First-year Lindsey Zhang continues to lead the backcourt, recording a team-best 14 digs. First-year Nicole Prescott joined Zhang in double figures with a season-high 11 digs. At the net, sophomore Olivia Cooper put up four blocks, while Wang added two.
 
Harvard Highlights
- Ashley Wang registered a career-high eight service aces. The Crimson tallied 13 total compared to the Ducks' six.
- With the match on the line, the Crimson recorded 15 kills and just two errors in set three to register a match-high .419 hitting percentage.
- Despite dropping the first set, the Crimson tied the set eight times and there were seven lead changes. 

Harvard at Howard
The Crimson picked up its first win of the weekend over the Bison, topping Howard 3-1. After droppings its first set, Harvard rallied to take three straight and seal the victory by set scores of 23-25, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-21.
 
First-year Nicole Prescott made an impact of the court tonight, posting a season-high and team-best 17 kills. Junior Jaimie Rao and sophomore Katie Vorhies assisted the Crimson's offense with 12 and 11 kills apiece, respectively. Sophomore Ashley Wang and first-year Rocky Aguirre combined for 41 of Harvard's 47 total assists, registering 25 and 16 each, respectively.
 
Defensively, three Crimson players tallied double-digit digs. First-year Lindsey Zhang collected a team-best 16, while both Prescott and Wang recorded double-doubles adding 14 and 10 digs to their tally, respectively. Harvard won the blocking battle against Howard 10-8, with sophomore Ariana White putting up a team-high four.
 
Harvard Highlights
- Prescott registered her first double-double of her career, while Wang collected her sixth double-double of the season.
- Aguirre posted three service aces.
- Sophomore Ava Rauser, Rao and Vorhies each registered three blocks.
- Harvard limited Howard to a -.061 hitting percentage in set four and .132 in set three. 

Up Next
Harvard will close out its trip to Washington, D.C. against American tomorrow, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.