CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women's volleyball team (12-5, 5-3 Ivy) will play host to Cornell and Columbia on Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28, respectively. Both matches will air on ESPN+. Friday's Match will be the team's Dig Pink fundraiser while Saturday's match will take place among the Harvard Homecoming festivities.
The Crimson's Friday night match against Cornell will serve as their Dig Pink match with the Side-Out Foundation. Funds raised for Side-Out go toward research specifically for patients with metastatic breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease, and the least funded area of research. Every $2,000 raised through Dig Pink allows Side-Out to provide an unprecedented analysis to metastatic breast cancer patients and their oncologists. This unique analysis ranks treatment solutions and clinical trials for each patient that can substantially improve the length and quality of their life.
Saturday's match will take place during the Harvard Fall Fest celebration, where fans will be able to start their day with food trucks, yard games, live music and much more across the athletics campus as the Crimson celebrate Harvard Homecoming.
What to Know
• Harvard has started the 2023 season 12-5 after winning seven non-conference games and starting the Ivy League campaign 5-3 through the first round of conference matchups and a win over Dartmouth last Saturday.
• The Crimson last played Dartmouth, where Harvard had excellent comebacks in the third and fourth set to make for a thrilling five-set battle that the Crimson ultimately won, 3-2. Three Crimson athletes scored kills in the double-digits.
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Ryleigh Patterson is the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her third time this season after scoring 19.5 points against Dartmouth, highlighted by 15 total blocks.
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Ashley Wang is second in the NCAA in triple-doubles, having posted seven throughout the 2023 season. She is tied with the Harvard single season record and will need one more to break the record. Her most recent triple-double came in five sets against Dartmouth, where she put up 10 block assists, 23 assists and 16 digs.
• The Crimson team leads the Ivy League in blocks, having made 175 total blocks with an average of 2.78 blocks per set. In the Crimson's win over Dartmouth, Harvard made 23 blocks, which is the most so far of all Ivy League matches.
• The 2023 Harvard Volleyball team was ranked fifth in the Ivy League preseason poll but now sits tied for third with Brown in the standings after starting 5-3 through the first half of conference play. The top four teams will travel to the no. 1 seed's home to play in the Ivy League Tournament from Nov. 17-18.
• Harvard fell to the Big Red in the first matchup this season in Ithaca, N.Y. by a score of 3-0. The Crimson trail Cornell 29-42 in the all-time series and will look to narrow the difference this weekend.
• Harvard swept Columbia 3-0 in their first matchup of 2023 in New York City, N.Y. The Crimson lead the all-time series 47-22 and hope to win both matchups against the Lions in one season for the first time since 2014.
Up Next
The Crimson will have their final home contests of the season, including a senior day celebration, on Nov. 3 and 4. Harvard will host Brown on Friday the third then host Yale on Saturday the fourth. Both matches will air on ESPN+.
