After a successful weekend touring New York, the Dartmouth women's volleyball team traveled to UNH last night. Despite a dismal start, the team roared back in the final three games to win the match 9-15, 15-2, 15-2, 15-8. The win moved the Big Green's record to 12-6 (2-1 Ivy).
Coach Ann Marie Larese used the same starting six that had powered her team in wins again Columbia and Cornell over the weekend.
It wasn't meant to be, however. Larese described the team's performance in the first game as "sluggish ... We played like they were going to give it to us."
Larese's switch back to a more traditional lineup in the second game paid off. UNH servers stumbled, while the Big Green started gaining momentum.
"They gave us a lot of opportunities," said Larese of the inconsistent Wildcat serving, which at one point missed five consecutive serves.
The momentum carried the team through the final three games.
"I'm just happy we were able to get ourselves out of that funk in game one," Larese said.
Maria Stutsman y Marquez '98 described the team's thinking after the first game. "We figured we have to wake-up and win."
Janna Merryfield '00 said, "From the beginning of the second game all the way through the end of the match, we never let them back in it."
Alison McKinley '99, who was named Ivy Player of the Week for her efforts over the weekend, racked up another huge game.
"Ali played great," Larese said.
McKinley, an outside hitter, is putting up record numbers for the second straight season. She leads the team in kills, kill percentage and digs.
Middle blocker Danra Kazenski '99, who leads the team in blocks, came up with several strong blocks and kills.
The strength of the bench was also a key for Dartmouth in the victory.
"It was a total team effort ... different mixes of people worked together really well on the court," Merryfield said.
Up next for the Big Green are two big Homecoming matches against the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 4:00 p.m., respectively, in Leede Arena.
