It will be a day to remember for the women of the Dartmouth volleyball team. Not only did the team improve its record to 12-6, but it captured its first Ivy win in its history as a fully-funded team.
The team went into Leede Arena this weekend with a mission to improve its Ivy League record and defeated Columbia University in five games.
"We needed this win," Coach Ann Marie Larese said. "We needed that little bit of confidence."
Captain Carmen Schmitt '97 said, "We were able to stick with it in the long rallies. That shows guts."
Columbia jumped out to an early 0-4 lead over the Big Green in the first game, only to see Dartmouth come back to within one point with strong hitting.
Columbia pulled ahead again due to missed hits by Dartmouth as well as strong hitting from Columbia's leading hitter Erica Loberg, so that Dartmouth was soon looking at a 6-10 deficit.
While Dartmouth picked up the tempo of its game, Columbia slowed down, making several mistakes. At the same time, Dartmouth got off several good hits to tie up the game at 12-12 and then bypass Columbia, taking a 15-12 win with a decisive kill by outside hitter Alison McKinley '99.
In the second game, Dartmouth and Columbia mirrored each other's play for the first four serves, each coming up with a down-the-line kill and a block. After four rotations, the score remained stalled at 0-0.
Dartmouth grabbed the momentum and flew ahead to gain a five-point advantage. Columbia quickly closed the gap and, stealing the momentum out of Dartmouth's hands, took the lead.
Columbia continued to find the holes in Dartmouth's defense, which, compounded with Dartmouth's hitting errors, allowed the Lions to take the win, 8-15.
In the third game, Dartmouth took the first point and never looked back. The Big Green began to run their plays, enabling them to use the hit to their greatest advantage.
"We've been working on shot selection," Schmitt said. "Alison had some nice rolls and Emily [Hallenbeck '99] had some nice tips."
Columbia appeared tired both physically and mentally, while Dartmouth clearly had the momentum to carry them through. The team ended the game strong with an ace by McKinley, giving them the 15-3 win.
But Columbia took off from the beginning of game four. Dartmouth, retaliated and tied up the game at 8-8. Dartmouth continued on to take a 12-9 lead, but Columbia was unwilling to give up and tied the game at 14-14. After much rallying and many side outs, Columbia prevailed, taking the game 15-17.
This win tied the match up at 2-2 and sent the teams into a fifth game. Dartmouth clearly wanted the win more, allowing Columbia only six points in the final game. McKinley's serving helped bring her team to a 15-6 decision, clinching the win, 3-2.
"I'm really happy for the kids," Larese said. "This was a huge game for us. We definitely have potential to be such a strong offense, but defense wins games."
One key to Dartmouth's win was freshman setter Felicity Kolp. Kolp's consistency setting gave the team the chance to run the plays they needed to take the win.
"I can't say enough about Felicity," Larese said. "She's just setting way beyond her years."
Larese also noted McKinley. "Alison's been the person in the clutch for us. That's a really hard position to be in."
Columbia, on the other hand struggled offensively by having trouble getting the ball to its strongest hitter, Loberg.
In the first game of the weekend, Dartmouth faced the Cornell Big Red. Cornell, coming into the game off its best start since 1989 boasting a 12-3 record, caused Dartmouth to crumble in three games.
Despite promising starts to each of the three games, Dartmouth was unable to capitalize on its momentum to take the win.
"For the first few points in each game we showed what we mean to do," Schmitt said. "After about six points, we died out. We have to be consistent."
Dartmouth hopes to continue from the weekend's win and put the loss behind as it takes on Harvard tomorrow in Cambridge.
"We're working on not giving anyone a breath and on keeping them under while we're on top," Schmitt said.
"With Harvard, it's going to be blow-for-blow," Larese said. "We have tough hitters, and they have tough hitters. I'm looking for it to have a very fast tempo [as in the Cornell game]."
