In front of a rocking Leede Arena crowd, the seniors of the Dartmouth women's volleyball team bid a fond farewell to the court that has been home for the past four seasons. As part of the festivities, the Big Green defeated the University of New Hampshire, 15-12, 13-15, 15-10, 15-8.
The Wildcats (17-10) came to Hanover riding a 14-match winning streak. Their last loss came well over a month ago at the hands of the Big Green in a match played in Durham, N.H.
While UNH was trying to extend its streak, Dartmouth (17-5, 5-2 Ivy) had its own agenda: completing an undefeated home season.
"We've been a dominating team at home all season long," Jessica Wirth '01 said of their 8-0 record. "We finished off just as strong tonight as when we opened the season."
For seniors Emily Hallenbeck, Danra Kazenski, and Felicity Kolp, the match was the last time they'd step into Leede Arena wearing the green and white.
"It's great to end the home season with a win against a good team like UNH", Kolp said. "We're also very proud that we once again maintained our Granite State Championship."
"It's sad to play our last home match, but we still have the most important part of the season ahead of us," Kazenski said.
The first game of the match opened up even until the score was tied at 11, when momentum took a Big Green swing. Anne Murray '00 started the run with a monster kill, which was followed two points later by an off-handed tip for a kill by Janna Merryfield '00. The Big Green finished the game with a stuff block by Wirth.
Game two was just as tightly contested as the first, except this time it was UNH jumping ahead late in the game. The teams traded four sideouts at 13 all, including a spectacular save by Meredith Brower '01, who nearly slid into the scorers table to save an errant pass, before Hallenbeck recorded a kill for one of the sideouts. The teamwork wasn't enough to discourage the Wildcats, who went on to win the game 15-13.
Dartmouth took a lead earlier in the third game and held on for the win. With the score tied at 8-8, Anne Murray stepped to the forefront once again, pounding a kill to give Dartmouth the lead. The Big Green went on to lead the rest of game three and all of game four.
"Our blocking and defense really picked up tonight," Murray said. "I think we're seeing the ball better."
"This is a great way to end the home season and good preparation for the Ivy Tournament," Hallenbeck said.
The Big Green travel to Northeastern this weekend for matches against Pitt and Notheastern.
