After an 0-7 start, the women's volleyball team heads into official Ivy League competition this weekend in what could be its most difficult road trip of the season.
The women will play Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, two of the stronger teams in the league.
Last year, the team finished 10-12 overall with a 1-8 Ivy League record that placed them seventh in the Ancient Eight for the second straight year. Thus far, the 1993 season looks to be a transition year for the Big Green.
In addition to the loss of last year's seniors, setter Amy Shortridge and Adienne Parker, they lost their strongest outside hitter Andrea DeShazo '94 early on to a knee injury that will keep her out for the entire season. The team is also working under new coach Jen Frank and assistant coach Kim Goodwin after last year's coach, Eric Baumgartner, left to attend graduate school.
So far, it's been rough going for the Big Green. In mid-September, the team played four games in the Harvard Tournament where they lost twice to a revitalized Crimson squad. Fortunately, these games are considered non-conference ones and don't count in the official Ivy League standings.
The team then faced Holy Cross and Northwestern but fell short, 15-11, in the fifth game of each match.
After a strong showing against Boston College last Wednesday, Dartmouth suffered a disappointing, three-game loss the next day to the University of Vermont.
As the Big Green looks forward to Ivy League play, they have set down a series of goals for this weekend's matches. The women are hoping to run their options more quickly and prove to themselves that they can play well as a team. Dartmouth also wants to define each individual player's role more specifically.
After facing Penn and Princeton this week, the Big Green return home for a pair of matches Friday night and Saturday against Columbia and Cornell.
The next weekend, the team travels to the St. Michael's Tournament, where it will be one of four teams. As they get deeper into the season, the Big Green will play Harvard at least twice more and are hoping for a repeat of last year's successes against the Crimson.
With five new players, Janene Ashford '97, Erin Dawkins '97, Cheryl Mason '95, Mandy Bagley '97 and Carmen Schmidt '97, the team should improve on last year's performance.
"We're looking to the freshmen to add to the talent we already have," Jennifer Hall '94 said. "As each year has progressed, our talent has grown stronger and our program has steadily progressed."
The team is led by Co-captains Michelle Moore '94 and Hall. Dana Morawitz '95 leads the team in kills and digs while setter Kate Shortridge '96 is leading the team in aces. Hitters Candice Jimerson '95 and Kai Enos '96 have provided key hits at crucial times.
