Despite a host of new faces on the court Wednesday night, the Dartmouth volleyball team reminded the home crowd of many of last season's losses, dropping two painfully close games in a 3-0 loss to in-state rival UNH at Leede Arena (30-21, 31-29, 30-28).
With four freshmen in the starting lineup, the new Big Green (1-7) overcame a sluggish start to play a very competitive match but committed a number of costly errors and lost the battle at the net to the bigger Wildcats (4-7), mustering just a .098 hitting percentage as the ladies in green were outblocked 13-2.
In the first game, UNH was able to stretch a 22-18 lead into a comfortable 30-21 win. The Wildcats carried that momentum into the second game, jumping out to a 21-15 lead before Dartmouth battled back to tie the score at 23 with key kills from Sarah Nadler '06, who led the team with 12 kills for the game while up against a big double block for much of the match.
Mistakes at crucial moments, however, cost Dartmouth the second game as a 29-28 lead evaporated on a hitting error, a missed serve and an uncovered tip, resulting in a 31-29 UNH win.
In a promising display of resilience, the Big Green put the tough second game loss behind them, jumping out to a commanding 15-9 lead, reeling off six consecutive points on the serve of first-year setter Elise Krieger '08.
Three consecutive Dartmouth errors and a UNH ace allowed the Wildcats to narrow the lead to 20-18. The lead went back and forth from there before some poor serve receptions and more hitting errors by the Big Green at the end of the game led to a 30-28 Wildcats victory.
"Our unforced errors in the match cost us many points," said head coach Ann Marie Larese, now in her 11th season. "We had some trouble with our passing on serve receive and our blocking, which are two areas of the game we have played strongly in so far this season."
Krieger recorded 18 assists for Dartmouth, while outside hitter Sandy Barbut '08 and libero Diana Szczepanski '05 chipped in with 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Defensive specialist Skye Zeller '07 also came off the bench and fueled the defense with some terrific digs.
For the Wildcats, junior co-captain Erin Walker led the way with 12 kills and 12 digs. Junior middle hitter Karen Harrington also notched seven kills and sophomore setter Katie Weidner tallied 30 assists, 11 digs and four aces.
So far this season the Dartmouth volleyballers have competed in the Montana State Invitational and Army Invitational. In Bozeman, Montana, the Big Green recorded losses to Portland (3-0), Montana State (3-0), Buffalo (3-2), and Boise State (3-1). At the US Military Academy, the Green fell to Army (3-2) and Maine (3-2), but pulled off a victory against St. Peter's College (3-0).
Despite the losing record, Larese remains optimistic about the upcoming Ivy schedule. "I am encouraged by the team's ability to continue to fight through some of the mistakes and the tough points we have encountered this season" she said. "I am looking for growth in each position with the more matches we play and the more experience we gain."
After a disappointing 9-16 (3-11 Ivy) 2003 season, the team has had to replace five players in the regular rotation this fall after the graduation of Kainoa Fialkowski '04, Chelsea Morgan '04 and Lindsay Sheffield '04 and the loss of hard-hitting opposite Anna Jenkins '05 for medical reasons and middle hitter Nadine Parris '06 to the D-Plan. These losses have pushed the team's six freshmen into greater roles than expected, but Larese has been pleased with the way they have begun their college careers.
"Our freshman class is competing on the floor for us and providing us some depth and increased competition in each of the positions on the court," she said. "This will only help us as a program overall as the season progresses. I like their fearless nature and desire to compete and win against every opponent we face."
The Big Green returns to action this weekend, hosting the Dartmouth Invitational. Dartmouth will play Harvard at 7 p.m. Friday, before battling La Salle at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Iona at 5:30 p.m.
