Last season people would have been skeptic as to how the women's volleyball team could do in a Dartmouth-hosted tournament. This past weekend, however, the Big Green volleyball showed the Dartmouth community just what it's capable of doing.
Dartmouth went all the way to the finals of the first-ever Dartmouth Invitational, where it lost to the St. John's University Red Storm in three games.
In the two days of the tournament, held in Leede Arena Friday and Saturday, Dartmouth played four games and improved its record from 3-2 to 6-3 on the season.
Dartmouth faced St. John's University in the championship match on Saturday afternoon, to which it lost 9-15, 3-15, 2-15. Coming almost directly off of an intense four-game match against Iona College, the Big Green found themselves struggling and fatigued.
The Red Storm came out strong in the first game and pulled up to a four point lead. While Dartmouth did score points, St. John's maintained the original four point lead over Dartmouth for most of the game and came out with a 15-9 victory.
The next two games saw Dartmouth even more depleted of energy. Mis-hits and a lack of communication on Dartmouth's part gave St. John's the opportunity to gain a 12 point lead and the confidence to continue strong until the end of the game.
The final game mirrored the second, and Dartmouth saw itself facing its first loss of the tournament, 3-0.
"We just ran out of gas," Coach Ann Marie Larese said. "We were tired; we were very tired. St. John's is a really fine team. They have a great offense and their setter [Connie Chae] is very good."
"We really started to gel in the last match," St. John's Coach Joanne Persico-Smith said. "Our unforced errors were low so it showed we were going to do well that day. We let the other teams make the errors and we didn't."
While the championship match may not have gone as Dartmouth would have liked, the team managed to win all its other matches during the tournament.
In addition, freshman outside hitter Alison McKinley was named to the All-Tournament team, voted on by all caoches.
"Alison McKinley just showed she was one of the most complete players we have," Larese said.
In the semifinal, Dartmouth defeated Iona College 3-1 after a scare in the second game.
The first game went smoothly for Dartmouth. The team came back from being down 1-3 with very strong play from McKinley. Dartmouth won 15-6.
In the second game, however, Iona put to use the tip in order to defeat Dartmouth. The Gaels consistently tipped the ball over the net, taking Dartmouth by surprise. This strategy alone allowed Iona to take the second game 7-15.
Dartmouth adjusted in the third and fourth game and came out on top for both of these, 15-11, 15-2.
Larese foreshadowed her team's problems in the final, saying, "We're playing on pure emotion. We've been on the court for four hours. I feel like we're on a roller coaster but we're winning at the end."
Dartmouth started off the tournament against the University of New Hampshire. UNH came into the tournament with a 2-3 record.
The Big Green took the match after three games, beginning with a quick 15-5 victory over the Wildcats and ending with a 16-14 come-from-behind win.
"We really pulled together in the last game," Dartmouth Captain Carmen Schmitt said. "UNH had game point eight times. We got it on our second time. It really showed motivation and determination when we're on the line."
"It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done," Larese said. "We saved eight game points. That shows character. But we can't afford to get in that position again. We need to do things that we do well like serve-receive. That broke down and it's hard to get it back."
On Saturday morning, Dartmouth was back on the court facing Fairfield. Dartmouth took the first game 15-8.
In the second game, however, Dartmouth started slowly, letting Fairfield gain a 1-6 lead. Dartmouth earned four points but Fairfield's great blocking and hitting allowed the Stags to take the game, 4-15.
The third and fourth games brought Dartmouth back to its potential. Dartmouth's consistent hitting as well as serving and passing enabled the team to take the last two games, 15-6, 15-6.
"We did ourselves a huge favor by winning that match," Larese said. "If we're playing with confidence, we're one of the better side out teams. The other teams aren't getting any points and we're getting our serve back. We just need to keep pushing."
"I'm very happy with the tournament results," Larese said. "To be in the finals of the first Dartmouth Invitational is great. That's exactly where we wanted to be. The deserve it; they beat the teams they had to beat and they worked hard for every single point."
