Dartmouth women's volleyball extended its winning streak to five games on Friday against Brown before falling to Yale on Saturday of Homecoming.
Homecoming excitement seemed to spur the women on, as Dartmouth (9-7, 3-3 Ivy) made a habit of jumping out to early leads over the weekend. However, the squad may have been a touch too fired up on Saturday, as it struggled to close out games against the Bulldogs (11-4, 6-0 Ivy). Serving remained a strength for the Big Green through both contests.
The weekend's first match against Brown (5-12, 1-4 Ivy) was closely contested, as neither team gained a significant lead.
The Big Green took the first match 30-28. Dartmouth then bounced back from a quick start by the Bears to win the second game at 30-27.
The third game of the match started off with the teams trading runs, as Dartmouth leapt out to a 4-0 lead before Brown rallied to go up 10-14. Strong hitting from Covington and Sandy Barbut '08 kept the game tight before Parris' kill on a tough set and a Brown error gave Dartmouth the game at 34-32.
"I think that we as a whole have been playing with much more confidence and fire which made all the difference in the third game of the match," said Sandy Barbut '08.
The match against Yale on Saturday featured moments of stellar play from the Dartmouth side, but the Bulldogs' hitting and strong defense proved too much for the Big Green. The first game started well for the Dartmouth women as they went up 10-5, but Yale eventually pulled away to win 30-26.
Nadine Parris '07 led Dartmouth to a 7-1 lead early in the second game of the match, but the Yale side was not shaken, putting together a swift comeback, and tying the game at 11. The Bulldogs then played to a 30-26 victory in the second game.
Dartmouth struggled in the third game, committed two net violations and suffered from weak defense. Yale's more consistent level of play, coupled with strong outside hitting from freshman Alexis Crusey, gave the Bulldogs a third 30-21 win.
This weekend Dartmouth goes on the road to play Cornell (8-7, 3-2 Ivy) and Columbia (5-9, 0-5 Ivy).
