The Dartmouth women's volleyball team opened Ivy play last Friday with a straight set win against Harvard at Cambridge, Mass.
Coming off three non-league home games, the Big Green (5-6, 1-0 Ivy) hit the road to square off against last year's fourth-place finisher in the Ivy League.
"We had a great week of practice and were really excited to start Ivy play," co-captain Megan MacGregor '10 said. "It was important for us to get the win at Harvard so that we had the advantage going into this weekend when we play them at home."
Winless against the Crimson (4-8, 0-1 Ivy) last season, Dartmouth looked to set the tone against its league rival right from the get-go.
The Big Green wasted little time to make its intentions known, running away with the first set 25-16.
In the opening frame, strong kills by outside hitter Madeline Baird '12 disoriented the both the Crimson's front blockers and back-row defenders.
Although Dartmouth gained an 8-5 advantage, Harvard was able to remain composed, boosting a 4-1 run that tied the game at nine.
After a Big Green timeout, the women's squad quickly bounced back, eventually responding with an offensive surge of its own by taking advantage of Crimson errors to build a six-point lead.
Down the stretch, Dartmouth finished with a series of impressive attacks that caught Harvard off-guard and off-balance.
"We did a very good job of staying composed and focused on the court," co-captain Morgan Covington '10 said. "We came out strong at the beginning of every match, and maintained aggressive serving and smart attacks."
The second set was close for much throughout the frame, as Harvard sought to even the match, but was unsuccessful as the Big Green prevailed, 25-22.
Down 4-2 in the early goings, the Crimson players began to settle their nerves, rallying from behind to build a 9-6 lead.
Harvard's advantage, however, was short-lived, as the Big Green answered with sharp kills by Baird, who tied the set at 13.
Both teams battled point-for-point before a kill by Crimson sophomore Sandra Lynne Fryhofer gave Harvard a one-point advantage. The home team, however, was unable to complete its last minute charge, making several costly errors that gave Dartmouth some breathing room.
The third set started as a replay of the first two, with neither teams able to outpace the other.
A Crimson surge gave Harvard a three-point lead at 8-5, but the Big Green soon narrowed the gap with kills by MacGregor and Baird.
A tight contest ensued before Dartmouth finally took the lead at 17-16 and never looked back, edging Harvard 25-23 en route to a three-set sweep.
Baird led all players with 16 kills and a .441 hitting percentage, while MacGregor continued her impressive run with a double-double, recording 12 kills and 11 digs.
Kendall Houston '12, who recorded a team-high 31 assists, finished with five of Dartmouth's eight service aces.
The Big Green offense outgunned a Crimson attack that was held to a low .094 hitting percentage.
"We played well as a team we kept our composure and had faith in each other," MacGregor said. "Our energy was high from point one until the end of the match, and it was obvious that Harvard was surprised."
The Big Green will look to carry over its momentum from the straight-set victory, as Dartmouth will go for the season sweep of Harvard next Friday at home.
"We will continue to work hard this week to be even more prepared for our home game this week," Covington said. "Since both teams now have a feel for each other, it is important that we focus on fine-tuning certain aspects of our game in order to maintain a competitive edge."
