A dogged display of fierce rallies and team consistency were not enough for the Dartmouth women's volleyball team, as the Big Green dropped Friday night's match in straight sets to the University of Pennsylvania and faltered late against powerhouse Princeton University on Saturday.
The Big Green (6-12, 2-6 Ivy) and Penn (8-11, 4-3 Ivy) remain in sixth and fourth place in the league, respectively, after the weekend action. Princeton (12-3, 6-1 Ivy) inches closer to the top spot, overtaking Cornell University for second place after the Big Red split its weekend doubleheader.
Heading into Philadelphia after a five-set, momentum-breaking loss to Cornell last weekend, the Big Green looked to begin its second half of Ivy play with a big win on the road.
"I think we need to regroup. We're still dealing with the first round of the league," head coach Ann Marie Larese said after last Saturday's defeat.
Dartmouth opened Friday's match-up against Penn with a steady and consistent pace. Both teams were unable to take an early advantage, but a quickened Quaker offense soon began to pull away at 10-5. The Big Green, however, rallied behind strong kills by Morgan Covington '10 and Kendall Houston '12, narrowing the lead to two. Penn would respond with kills of its own, finishing off a close first set, 25-21.
The second set saw shifts in tempo on both sides, as the Big Green ran to a 5-1 lead. After taking a time-out, Penn quickly regained its first-set energy. Tying the set at nine, the Quakers eventually took over the lead and never looked back, edging out the Big Green once again, 25-20.
The third set was played in similar fashion to the previous set, with the Big Green rushing to a 6-4 lead before the Quakers made yet another comeback to tie at 10. Penn would not falter down the stretch, consistently matching up with Dartmouth's defenders to keep any last-minute rallies in check. Penn would cap off the match with a 25-21 third-set win.
"We never came out strong in any of the three sets," co-captain Megan MacGregor said. "We had some of the longest rallies of the entire season. We just needed to finish."
MacGregor and Amber Bryant '12 led the team in kills and digs, with 10 and 13, respectively.
At Saturday's match in Princeton, N.J., the Big Green hoped to clinch an upset against a confident Tigers squad that has never lost to Dartmouth at home.
History seemed to be on Princeton's side during the first set, as the Tigers stormed to a formidable lead that held throughout the first half. A consistent Big Green frontline kept the gap at four but was unable to formulate a late scoring surge, as Princeton closed out the first set, 25-21.
Showing team-wide resiliency, the Big Green began to take control in the second set, limiting the Tigers' opening momentum. After Princeton went up by two near the end, Dartmouth came back with strength, boosting a 6-1 run that emphatically capped off the Big Green's late resurgence, 27-25.
The Tigers, however, quickly stymied Dartmouth's second set charge. After rallying from a three-point deficit and tying at 12, Princeton soon opened up a sizable five-point lead, running away with a third set after a 13-3 run.
The Big Green rebounded in the first half of the fourth set, opening up a seven-point advantage at 21-14 behind strong kills by Covington and Kelsey Johnson '11.
Four points away from forcing a fifth set, Dartmouth committed costly service and ball-handling errors that jump-started a potent Tigers' offense. Energized by its unexpected eight-point rally, Princeton powered through the last points of the set, edging out the Big Green with a decisive 28-26 victory.
"It was a really great volleyball match," Larese said. "We played with heart the whole time, and we just tried to get some momentum going into the fourth set. I felt we did some good things against a team that is really good, and I feel we're starting to get the production we need."
When asked what experience the team had acquired after the two hard-fought losses, assistant coach Paul Arrington cited that the team is slowly shedding its self-doubt.
"I think [the girls] gained some confidence that they can play against the top teams in the league," he said.
MacGregor shared similar sentiments.
"[They were] sets that shouldn't be looked as a great disappointment," she said. "I think we're slowly learning."
Coming off this weekend's road trip, Dartmouth has now played all seven Ivy rivals. The Big Green comes home next weekend for two league rematches, facing Brown University on Friday night and Yale University on Saturday afternoon.
