CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's volleyball (10-0, 1-0 Ivy) won its first conference match of the season with a five-set victory (30-28, 25-21, 25-27, 16-25, 15-9) over Dartmouth (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) on Saturday afternoon at the Malkin Athletic Center.
How it Happened
Dartmouth commanded the opening set, pulling ahead 15-6 at the media timeout. Harvard slowly climbed out of the hole by using two separate 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run to tie the set at 20-all. The Crimson took its first lead at 22-21 after a kill from Ryleigh Patterson. The teams traded points until a service error from the Big Green locked the score at 24-24. Harvard got set point following a kill from Masina Ogbechie, but points on both sides prevented the end of the set. Patterson and Catlin Shao teamed up for a block for set point four, and an attacking error from Dartmouth gave the Crimson the set at 30-28.
Neither team took a lead larger than three to start the second set, and the Big Green looked to be in control with a 14-11 lead. Harvard recovered with a 4-0 run to lead 15-14 at the technical timeout. The Crimson capitalized on errors from Dartmouth as it led 22-17 when the Big Green used a timeout. A service error from Dartmouth handed Harvard set point, and Sophia Wei served an ace to win the set 25-21.
The Big Green led 10-6 and on a 4-0 run as the Crimson burned one of its timeouts. An ace from Riley Resmer and a block between Resmer and Kayla Nwabueze gave Harvard the lead at 15-14. The Crimson extended its lead to 22-19, but Dartmouth recovered to tie the set at 24-all. Ogbechie knocked down a kill, but the Big Green went on a 3-0 run to win the set 27-25.
Dartmouth jumped ahead 9-4 before Harvard used a timeout, but the Crimson rallied to be down by three at 11-8. The Big Green commanded the remainder of the set, leading 19-13 as Harvard took its second timeout. A kill and an ace from Resmer tried to spark a run, but Dartmouth won the set 25-16 with a kill.
Set five started with a 9-1 Crimson run that featured kills from Nwabueze, Resmer, Ali Farquhar, and Sofia Rossi. The Big Green took a few points to get within four at 11-7, but Ogbechie, Nwabueze, and Farquhar all knocked down kills to win the set and match, 15-9.
Harvard Highlights
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Harvard finished the day hitting .180 with 60 kills, 59 digs, 12 blocks, and seven aces. Dartmouth hit .209 with 62 kills, 73 digs, 15 blocks, and six aces.
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Senior outside hitter Ali Farquhar set new career highs with 17 kills on 37 attacks. Farquhar finished the day hitting at a .297 clip and added four blocks to the match.
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Setters Sophia Wei and Catlin Shao each posted over 20 assists, logging 27 and 20, respectively. Wei added two aces and 14 digs, while Shao contributed one ace, one block, and seven digs.
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Senior libero Yvette Easton tabbed 18 digs in the match and also posted five assists and one kill. Fellow senior and middle blocker Ryleigh Patterson knocked down six kills, stuffed nine blocks, and dug two balls.
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Sophomore Sofia Rossi was the only other Crimson with double-digit kills, posting 12 on 33 swings, and added three aces, six digs, and one block.
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Freshman opposite hitter Masina Ogbechie finished with nine kills and two blocks, while junior middle blocker Riley Resmer recorded five kills, one ace, and three blocks.
Next Up
Harvard will travel to face Yale and Brown on Oct. 2 and 3, respectively. The Crimson and the Bulldogs will face off at 6 p.m. in New Haven, Conn., before Harvard faces Brown at 7 p.m. in Providence, R.I.
