SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite strong starts to today's two matches, the Harvard women's volleyball team (0-3) could not come out on top against Montana State (1-5) and Boston College (5-0) at the Bryant Invitational in Smithfield, R.I. The Crimson fell to the Bobcats 3-1 in four sets, scored 25-22, 20-25, 27-29 and 23-25. They later were swept by the Eagles in sets of 24-26, 17-25 and 25-27.

In the first match of the day against Montana State, the Crimson displayed a dominant performance in set one, outscoring the Bobcats 25-22 with a hit percentage of 32.3 percent over Montana State's 30 percent. The three sets to follow were full of back-and-fourth action with the Bobcats coming out on top. Captain Bella Almanza led the team in aces vs. Montana State, scoring four throughout the match.

The Crimson put up a fight in set one against Boston College as well, keeping the score tied up until each team had 24 points, at which point the Eagles closed it out to win 26-24. A similarly close battle took place in the third set, ending with the Eagles taking a 27-25 victory. Harvard was led by Ariana White, who scored seven kills and three blocks throughout the match.

Harvard Highlights

- Harvard opened the match with a 6-0 run in set 1 versus Montana State.

- The Crimson outscored the Montana State Bobcats in aces 7-5 and kills 52-48. The Bobcats only beat the Crimson by a narrow margin of six total points throughout four sets.

- Ashley Wang, Katie Vorhies and Nicole Prescott each scored 10 or more kills vs. Montana State.

- First-year Hannah Nguyen scored her first ace for the Crimson against Boston College.

Up Next

Harvard Volleyball will host the Harvard Invitational next weekend, with games against Utah Valley, Georgia and Iona College on Sept. 9 and 10. The matches will stream on ESPN+.