CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's volleyball (10-12, 5-8 Ivy) dropped the opening match of its final weekend of the regular season, falling to Penn (12-10, 6-7 Ivy), 3-2. 

How it Happened

Harvard set the tone straight out of the gate, grabbing an early 5-1 lead on the back of an ace and a pair of kills from Brynne Faltinsky and Rocky Aguirre.  The Quakers followed by using their own 3-0 run to pull within one.  Swinging with power, the Crimson grabbed back all momentum with four straight points, forcing a Penn timeout at 14-9.  After regaining its significant lead, the Crimson never again relinquished its dominant lead, closing out the set at 25-16 on a 5-0 run.  Harvard recorded a pair of blocks, followed by two aces and a Corinne Furey kill to leave no doubt in the opening frame. 

The Crimson carried its momentum straight into the second set, storming out to a 4-0 lead.  Penn responded, eventually tying the stanza at 5-5 but Harvard took its lead back out to 10-7 and proceeded to never let Penn come closer than three points.  The Crimson pulled ahead by as many as seven in the set and ultimately solidified a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 final result. 

Following an early back-and-forth battle, the Quakers pulled away in the middle of the set, growing a lead as large as nine.  Ultimately, Penn was able to get on the board following a 25-14 third set. 

Following the match trends from the open pair of sets, Harvard created an early lead, pulling ahead 5-2.  A few points later, the Quakers came alive, riding a 6-1 run to create an advantage that it would not give up for the remainder of the frame.  Late in the stanza, Harvard was able to pull within two and nearly surpass Penn but the foes collected themselves and tied the match with a 25-21 set.    

The Quakers took the first lead of the final set, collecting a 3-0 advantage.  Penn then continued to control the frame, growing its lead to 8-3 and then 10-4 following the side change.  Despite the Crimson pressuring to get back into the set, the Quakers were able to solidify the frame at 15-8 and the match as a whole. 

Harvard Highlights

• Ryleigh Patterson and Brynne Faltinsky led the way on the offensive end for the Crimson, contributed 14 and 13 kills, respectively.  Patterson registered the team-high while hitting .333. 
• Corinne Furey and Peyton Hollis narrowly missed a double-digit kill outing, each contributing nine kills on the night. 
• Furey also added a team best six blocks, contributing two solo stops and four block assists. 
• As a team, the Crimson recorded six solo blocks and 14 block assists throughout five sets. 
• Rocky Aguirre had an all-around performance, adding five kills, four digs, and a team-high 44 assists.
• Alicia Guo, Amelie Lima, and Lindsey Zhang all provided a pair of aces against the Quakers. 

Next Up

The Crimson will close the regular season and celebrate its four seniors tomorrow night against Princeton.  First serve is set for 5:00 p.m. inside the Malkin Athletic Center and on ESPN+.