In its last homestand of the season, the Dartmouth women's volleyball team gave the home crowd a memorable performance, outlasting Brown in a tight five-set tiebreak on Friday night and rallying past Ivy powerhouse Yale on Saturday.
Leede Arena has been good to the Big Green (11-11, 7-5 Ivy) this year, with seven of the team's 11 wins coming at home.
After a five-game slide that spanned over two weeks in October, Dartmouth has now won its last four matchups, climbing to a fourth-place tie with Harvard in the Ivy League standings.
On Saturday's Senior Day match against Yale (18-4, 8-3 Ivy), Dartmouth got even with a Bulldogs squad that had cruised past the Big Green in straight sets earlier in the season.
For co-captains Megan MacGregor '10 and Morgan Covington '10, the victory over Yale was a fitting sendoff for two seniors who have become key players in Dartmouth's starting lineup.
"Beating Yale at home on my Senior Night was definitely one of my favorite moments while playing at Dartmouth," MacGregor said. "We are a much stronger team then we were the last time we played Yale. We played so well and pulled out a huge win for our program. I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Yale settled into its rhythm midway through the opening frame and eventually took the first set, 25-20.
Dartmouth answered in the second set with an early slew of points, building a five-point advantage at 7-2, despite Yale's persistent efforts to derail the Big Green's momentum.
Two big blocks by Krista Merchat '12 and Annie Villanueva '12 down the stretch capped off a defensive showing that stifled Yale's aggressive strikers, as Dartmouth ran away with a 25-13 victory.
"Winning the second set by such a large margin really motivated the team," Covington said. "We knew it wouldn't be easy from there on out, but the momentum was definitely on our side."
The third set saw a much tighter contest, with both teams trying to gain the upper hand in the decisive frame. Despite an early 6-1 lead, Dartmouth could not keep its advantage intact.
A point-for-point battle raged, as neither team was able to go up by more than two. Tied at 19, Dartmouth finally broke the stalemate with a kill by Villanueva. An ensuing Yale rally evened the score at 23 before two timely kills by the home team gave the Big Green a 2-1 set lead.
"The key to the game was controlling [Yale's] outside attack, and I think we did a pretty good job of doing just that with both our blocks and our defense," Covington said.
With victory in sight, Dartmouth stormed to a 9-3 lead. After a resilient Bulldogs squad knotted the score at 16, MacGregor helped Dartmouth inch ahead with a crucial kill.
The Big Green finished the upset with an emphatic strike from outside hitter Madeline Baird '12 to close out the frame, 25-20, and best last year's Ivy champion, 3-1.
Baird led all players with 19 kills, while MacGregor added 12 kills and 22 digs. Villanueva notched six blocks for a career high.
Dartmouth limited the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year Cat Dailey to only nine kills and a low .077 hitting percentage.
In Friday's showdown, Dartmouth looked for a win over last-place Brown (5-17, 1-10 Ivy).
Although Brown took the first set, 25-23, the Big Green caught the Bears napping in the second frame, as a series of Dartmouth kills and Brown attack errors allowed the home team to run away with a lopsided 25-10 win.
The Bears built a six-point lead in the second set. Dartmouth, however, kept within striking distance, slowly chipping away at the advantage and eventually evening the score at 19. The Big Green then capitalized on the shift in momentum and boosted a 3-0 run in the last minutes to edge Brown, 25-22.
With a 2-1 set lead, Dartmouth was able to establish a consistent tempo early in the set. Brown, however, was alert and aware, maintaining its focus throughout the frame. Tied at 19, the Bears took the fourth set, 25-19, and forced a fifth-set tiebreak.
The Big Green remained steady and poised, notching two crucial opening blocks. Brown evened the score at two before a 6-2 run gave Dartmouth a modest cushion.
Behind a series of kills by Baird and MacGregor, the home team was able to escape Brown's comeback effort with a 15-8 fifth set victory.
MacGregor and Baird led the team with 20 and 15 kills, respectively, while Alissa Santa Maria '13 recorded a career-high 60 assists.
The women's squad will conclude its 2009 season campaign with road matchups against Princeton on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
"We are extremely confident going into this weekend's matches," MacGregor said. "Our goal for the season is to be [in the] top three in the Ivy League, and we have a great chance to achieve that this week."
