Harvard University

 
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women's volleyball team grabbed a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 26-24, 25-22) of Fairfield (1-3) to begin its 2026 season on Friday night inside the Malkin Athletic Center. 
 

How It Happened

Although each team grabbed one of the first points, Harvard got out to a dominant 11-1 lead after aces from Sofia Rossi, kills from Ali Farquhar, and blocks from Ryleigh Patterson and Bridget Egan. After the Stags took a timeout, they took a few quick points to cut the lead to 14-6. Rossi and Riley Resmer added kills for the Crimson before Egan added an ace of her own. Sophia Wei also served an ace to put the score at 22-13, and a Fairfield service error gave Harvard set point at 24-16. A block from Patterson sealed the set win 25-17.
 
The Stags took the first point of the set with an ace but the Crimson battled back to get ahead 8-7 after a solo block from Rossi. Patterson added a kill as Harvard extended its lead 15-9 on a 6-0 run with three aces from Rossi. Fairfield regained momentum as it came back to tie the score at 16-all. Farquhar ended the Stags' run, but the pressure was on as the score knotted at 24-all. Farquhar tabbed another kill and Catlin Shao served an ace to win the set 26-24. 
 
A 3-0 scoring run started the final set for Fairfield, but Harvard responded with a 4-0 run to lead 4-2. The teams continued to trade blows, logging 10 ties scores by just the 26th point. The Crimson got ahead 16-13 before the Stags worked back to tie the score at 18-18. An ace from Resmer knotted the score at 20-20. Points bounced around, and kills from Farquhar and Patterson ended the set and match, 25-22.
 

Harvard Highlights

• Sofia Rossi posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while also adding six aces and one solo block. 
• Ryleigh Patterson tabbed five kills and four blocks. Ali Farquhar logged nine kills and three blocks on the night.
• Bridget Egan added three blocks of her own in addition to seven kills and one ace. 
• Sophia Wei dished out 23 assists and four aces. Catlin Shao recorded 11 assists in her first start to go along with two aces.
• Riley Resmer and Jordan Shelor served the other two aces. 
• The Crimson logged 41 kills, 46 digs, 15 service aces, and eight total blocks in the win. 

 

Next Up

Harvard returns to action with a 5 p.m. match against Holy Cross on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Malkin Athletic Center.