Facing both new and old rivalries, the Dartmouth women's volleyball team launched its season campaign at home with mixed results, with close losses to Harvard and Bryant University and a strong win over St. Francis.
After last Saturday's 3-0 win over Hartford to snap a four-game skid, the Big Green (4-7, 0-1 Ivy) looked to continue last year's dominance of league rival Harvard (5-7, 1-0 Ivy) and to set the tone for new Division I arrival Bryant (11-6) during the two-day tripleheader.
Throughout the invitational, however, the Big Green was embattled by tough first-set losses, which head coach Ann Marie Larese cited as "key" toward the progression of the matches.
In the Big Green's opener with Harvard on Friday night, the first set was played back-and-forth with neither team able to seize early control of the match. The Big Green exchanged point for point with Harvard throughout the game. After two straight-service points by co-captain Jess Thomas '09 to make the score 23-21, the Crimson surged back to tie the match at 24, before Harvard slipped past Dartmouth for the first set, 27-25.
In the second set, the Big Green quickly jumped to a 7-2 lead. Harvard, however, kept the game tight and tied at 18. This time, the Big Green would hold on, as Madeline Baird '12 served for a three-point lead and Morgan Covington '09 closed the set with two kills.
The Big Green was, however, unable to ride off its second-set momentum, losing a quick third set, 25-12, to a tighter Crimson middle that Dartmouth struggled to block and dig.
"We were scrambling. We're a scrambling team," Larese said.
Looking to carry the match into five sets, the Big Green rebounded with small yet crucial offensive runs. During the fourth game, Covington suffered a dislocated thumb and had to leave the match. Trying to capitalize on a 5-1 run after Covington's injury, the Big Green was again burdened with inconsistent play, losing the decisive fourth set, 25-22, and the match 3-1.
When asked about improvements, Larese pointed to team basics and fundamentals.
"[We need to] run our middle. Our net selection needs to get better. We're constantly counterpunching," she said.
Amber Bryant '12, who had 13 kills and a service ace on the match, echoed Larese's sentiment that the Big Green needs to work on its middle hitting and blocking.
"We needed to shut down their middle. We need to be more consistent as a team, and we need to do our jobs when we need to," Bryant said.
In Saturday's match against St. Francis (0-16, 0-0 NEC), the Big Green sought redemption from the night before, powering to a quick victory with three straight set wins, 25-12, 25-15, and 25-14, in dominating efforts from the whole team.
Megan MacGregor '10 and Natalia Wrobel '11 led the team in kills and assists, with 11 and 34, respectively. Hitting .315 in attack percentage, almost double the team's season average, and limiting St. Francis to an astonishing zero kills, the Big Green more than held its own against a weak Terrier offence.
Asked to comment on facing a fast pace and spirited Bryant team later in the afternoon, assistant coach Paul Arrington responded with a blunt simplicity that, in its mere obviousness, seemed easier said than done.
"If we play well, we will win, and if we don't play well, we will lose," he said.
Larese later expounded, "We need to play gritty; [Bryant] plays bigger than they are. We need to assert our presence on them."
Indeed, Coach Larese's comments proved to be prophetic, as the Bulldogs came out aggressive in the first set, storming to a 5-1 lead. Bryant would lead by as much as seven at 16-9, only to have it cut down to one after a 12-6 Big Green run. However, in similar fashion to the first set of the Harvard match, Dartmouth was unable to finish what it started, as the Bulldogs edged the Big Green with a score of 25-23.
"We absorbed the energy, but we didn't bounce it back. We needed to project it," Larese said.
The rest of the match, with the exception of the third set, was close, swinging back and forth with numerous rallies.
Behind sharp kills from Kelsey Johnson '11, Annie Villanueva '12 and Baird, the Big Green fought off inconsistencies, with two big blocks by Villanueva to seal the deal, tying the match at a set a piece.
After Bryant ran off with the third set, 25-14, the Bulldogs countered Dartmouth's urgency with patience and strong holds in the fourth set, forcing unnecessary rotational and tactical errors from the Big Green.
Bryant would eventually come back from two set points and win on two straight kills, 28-26.
After the match, Larese attributed the close set losses to hesitant and timid play.
"We got really tentative. 'Is it yours? Is it mine?' As soon as we start second-guessing, we start making mistakes," she said.
Reflecting on the importance of her big plays from the two tough losses, Villanueva remarked, "When anyone makes a crucial play, it fires everyone up."
"We all just look to each other. We remind ourselves why we play the game," co-captain Thomas said, with 15 kills in the match.
The Big Green begins its Ivy League road trip with a visit to Harvard for a match on Friday.
