One year ago, the stars of the women's volleyball team came into matches against Princeton and Penn with optimism, but the optimism relied on miracles to happen. The 1996 Dartmouth team that goes up against these two powerhouses tonight and Saturday in Leede Arena needs no miracles for its optimism to become a reality.
The team's 12-6 overall record is the best in the League, and its 2-1 Ivy record is good enough for third in the League.
The Big Green's confidence stems from two huge wins over Columbia and Cornell this past weekend. The Cornell win, a first for Dartmouth women's volleyball over the traditionally very strong Big Red, was crucial.
"The confidence we gained from this weekend is invaluable," Coach Ann Marie Larese said. "It gave the kids a new outlook."
Felicity Kolp '99 said, "Cornell was a breakthrough for us, in that we were able to sustain a high level of play for the entire match, keeping our confidence and composure and not letting down mentally or physically."
In her three years as the coach of the Big Green, Larese has yet to see a win over Penn, 9-6, (1-1 Ivy), or Princeton 6-6, (2-0 Ivy). Dartmouth did manage to take Penn to five games last year, but Princeton handled the Big Green with a three game victory that took less than an hour.
"These teams have all the pressure on them to beat us," middle blocker Danra Kazenski '99 said. "If we aggressively attack them from point one, we're going to surprise everyone in our league."
Penn, which finished third in the Ivy League tournament last year, features sophomore middle blocker Sue Sabatino. Sabatino leads the league in blocks, and was a key player in last week's defeat of Yale, posting 17 kills and nine blocked shots.
Princeton won last year's Ivy tournament. Their attack features outside hitter Ayesha Attoh '98, who was Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1994, and has continued her success this year. She was named Ivy player of the week earlier this year, and she averaged 15 kills and 10 digs against two Ivy foes last weekend.
The honors that Penn and Princeton players have received may seem large, but they pale in comparison to the ladies of Dartmouth. The Big Green are led by outside hitter Alison McKinley '99, who's one of only two players in the League to be named Ivy Player of the Week twice this year. McKinley also leads the League in digs and kills.
Setter Felicity Kolp leads the League in assists, and is also a member of the Big Green triumvirate that occupies three of the top four positions for most aces in the league. Her teammates in the exclusive group are Carmen Schmitt '97 and Maria Stutsman y Marquez '98.
Statistics are good indicators of past performance, but when the first whistle blows, matches tend to ride the emotional highs and lows of the teams on the court.
"We're hoping to have some huge crowds of fans on Friday because of Homecoming, and their support should be enough to keep our intensity rolling and give everyone who comes an awesome show," Kazenski said.
Outside hitter Janna Merryfield '00 views momentum as a key to victory.
"It's going to be very important for us not to let one or two mistakes get us down and throw all the momentum their way," she said. "Penn or Princeton might get some good kills, but so what? We'll get our shots too, and as long as we don't start to doubt our ability to beat these teams, I think we'll have a successful weekend."
In just its third year as a varsity sport at Dartmouth, women's volleyball has progressed rapidly. The first season saw the team go winless in the league, while last year's 2-5 league record was good enough for sixth.
In light of those numbers, this season already looks like a huge success, but the players aren't about to stop here.
"My dream is to smother Penn and Princeton this weekend and officially reach our goal as the team to beat in the Ivies," Kazenski said.
Dartmouth's game plan is to keep Penn and Princeton in the points as long as possible, in an attempt to frustrate them.
"Our hitters are awesome," Kolp said. "If we can continue to make the other team stay in the point we will be successful."
The Big Green goes up against Penn tonight at 7:00 p.m., and Princeton tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Both matches will be played at Leede Arena.
