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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Volleyball is 0-2 after weekend matches

11.4.13.sports.volleyball
11.4.13.sports.volleyball

The Big Green volleyball team had a disappointing weekend, losing to both Yale University and Brown University in two home games.

Although the Big Green put up a good fight, the match resulted in a 3-1 loss.

“I think we came out with lots of energy and a high level of play, but we just didn’t have enough to get that win,” middle blocker Kaira Lujan ’16 said.

In the first set, a trio of services aces by Stacey Benton ’17 put Dartmouth at a 6-3 lead. The set continued in a back-and-forth manner as the Big Green claimed a 14-8 lead, then lost six points to Yale to put the score at 15-14. Ultimately, the Bulldogs claimed the set with 25 points to Dartmouth’s 23.

“We came out with a lot of urgency,” outside hitter Paige Caridi ’16 said. “We have a lot of respect for Yale as a team and we knew they wouldn’t give us easy points, so we had to play to the best of our ability.”

In the next set, the Big Green built an early lead once again to put the score at 8-5 and then held its advantage for the remainder of the set. In the end, three straight kills from Caridi allowed the women to take the set 22-25.

After a short intermission, the Bulldogs came back with a vengeance and were able to take the last two sets 20-25. In the third set, Yale never ceded its lead after an initial 5-2 jump. Although the fourth set featured back-and-forth play, the Big Green could not claim the win.

“We were serving really tough, and we just weren’t converting enough points for the game to go our way,” Caridi said.

Despite the loss, the Big Green women had a strong offense, with Caridi and Emily Astarita ’17 carrying out double-digit kills. Defensively, Caridi, Benton, Julia Lau ’17 and Kayden Cook ’16 registered double-digit digs.

“I think that how we played against Yale is how we always want to play, and that on Friday, we didn’t have quite enough to take them,” co-captain Lucia Pohlman ’15 said. “Given a chance to play them again, I’m sure we could take another set or win the game.”

On Saturday, the Big Green faced Brown (9-12, 5-5 Ivy) once again in Leede Arena in its second game of the weekend. Although the teams were very evenly matched in their play, the Bears secured a 3-0 win.

“Because the league is really evenly matched, anyone can beat anyone and it’s really just a matter of who is on that night,” Lujan said.

In all three sets the women began strong, getting to 20 points first and trading the first 34 points. Each time, however, the Big Green women struggled to close out a late rally from the Bears. Ultimately, Brown defeated Dartmouth 25-23, 26-24, 28-26.

“I think we’re tired of losing, and small errors are not allowing us to do our best,” Lujan said. “I think it’s more a mental issue than a physical issue, and there are some mental things we can work on to stay in it.”

Pohlman agreed, and hopes that the game taught the Big Green players a lesson.

“It has been presented to us at multiple times this year that if we are not emotionally invested in the game, we aren’t able to perform at our highest,” Pohlman said. “I think that this loss against Brown is the final time we need to learn that lesson, and hopefully will inspire everyone to make sure that it never happens again.”

Middle blocker Elisa Scudder ’14 led the Big Green offensively, with a match-high 14 kills. Lujan also recorded double digit kills, while Benton carried out a match-best 37 assists.

“We didn’t come out with the same urgency as we had against Yale, and we weren’t executing,” Caridi said. “It was a disappointment for the whole team.”

This weekend, Dartmouth will take on the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University in two more home games. The Big Green players hope to redeem themselves after this weekend and emerge with some Ivy League wins.

“I think we’re doing pretty well, and we’re ready to get out this week in practice and come out strong this weekend,” Lujan said.