Fighting point-for-point in a tight third period, the Dartmouth women's volleyball team fell in straight sets to a surging Yale squad on Saturday after pulling a strong 3-1 victory over Brown on Friday night.
With the doubleheader split, the Big Green (7-13, 3-7 Ivy) falls to sixth place in the Ivy League, tied with Brown (11-11, 3-7 Ivy). Yale (15-4, 9-1 Ivy), with its fourth straight win, remains atop the Ivy standings after the weekend action.
After two tough losses on the road last week, including a close four-set defeat at Princeton, Dartmouth looked to rebound at home with renewed energy.
During Friday's match against Brown, the Big Green came out with solid performances in the first set. Captain Megan MacGregor '10 served the Big Green to four-straight points and Dartmouth quickly increased its lead to eight points, at 16-8. Brown rallied with a 4-0 run, but the Big Green soon regained its momentum, as captain Jess Thomas '09's service fueled a 6-0 run that helped it close out the first set, 25-13.
The second set was less of a one-sided affair, as the two teams battled back and forth for the opening points. After taking a 3-2 lead, Brown would maintain a slight advantage throughout the game. The Bears lead was never greater than four points, but the Big Green was unable to get closer than three points as the Bears took the set 25-22 with a sharp kill from senior Lyndse Yess.
Dartmouth refocused in the third set. After Brown tied the game at eight, the Big Green mustered a 5-1 scoring surge that forced a Bears timeout. Brown rallied, cutting the lead to one, but the Big Green responded strongly, as Morgan Covington '10 contributed two kills and an assisted block that helped cap off the third set, 25-21.
"We just focused on getting the momentum back on our side," Covington said.
The Big Green stormed to an 8-3 lead during the fourth set, but a persistent Bears offense kept the game close. Dartmouth eventually finished out the set behind kills by Madeline Baird '12, capturing the match with another 25-21 win.
Baird recorded a personal-best 27 kills and had a .440 hitting percentage for the game. Kendall Houston '12 had a team-high 48 assists.
The win on Friday gave the Big Green a season sweep of Brown. The team has not lost to Brown since Oct. 14, 2005, three years ago.
Dartmouth hoped to carry the momentum from the win against Brown into its rematch against Yale, but the Big Green fell again, losing in three sets.
Head coach Ann Marie Larese stressed that Dartmouth's offense must match up effectively against Yale's big front line.
"[The coaches] want the team to score a lot of points. We've played them tough down [in New Haven]. We have to take control of our scoring opportunities," Larese said.
The Bulldogs came charging out in the first set, running up a seven point lead at 8-1. The Big Green rallied to cut the lead to two but was unable to carry the momentum down the stretch. Yale posted a 7-3 run that gave it a six point advantage. The Bulldogs went on to win the first set, 25-19.
Struggling with Yale's formidable frontline, the Big Green quickly fell behind again in the second set, as the Yale defense limited Dartmouth to a below average .103 hitting percentage. On the season, the Big Green has amassed a .194 hitting percentage.
Maintaining its first set momentum, Yale soon built a nine point cushion at 17-8 and eventually claimed the second set, 25-13.
"We needed to capitalize on points early in the match. We didn't have that sense of urgency," MacGregor said.
In the third set, the Big Green began to find its comfort zone, matching up with Yale's quick and aggressive offensive pace. After exchanging the first eight points, the Bulldogs mounted a 4-0 run that forced the Big Green to use its first timeout of the set. Behind strong serves by Kelsey Johnson '11, Dartmouth managed to cut the lead to one, 10-9.
The Yale offense, however, would again take charge, taking another four-point lead at 20-16. The Big Green rallied for the second time in the set behind a crucial kill by MacGregor. After a 4-2 Bulldogs run that gave Yale three match-point opportunities, Dartmouth managed to save two before Bulldog freshman Bridget Hearst notched her 10th kill to end the game, 25-23.
"We had a great opportunity to beat a great team, but we didn't take advantage of that," MacGregor said.
When asked what lessons the team had learned from the losses to Yale, Larese pointed to a stronger, more consistent offense prowess.
"We've absolutely learned that we want to play with the lead," Larese said. "Serve reception is critical."
The Big Green will continue its home stand next weekend, facing Ivy rivals Princeton (14-3, 8-1 Ivy) on Friday, Nov. 7, and Penn (10-11, 6-3 Ivy) on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Big Green fell to Penn in straight sets last week and lost to Princeton, 3-1, in their last match.
