After an October full of ups and downs, the Dartmouth women's volleyball team managed to finish the month on a high note, beating both Cornell and Columbia in four sets at home to end a five-game losing skid.
"I think we came out with a lot of fire this weekend," co-captain Morgan Covington '10 said. "We definitely had something to prove and that was our motivation going into the two matches."
After posting two straight-set losses on the road two weekends ago, the Big Green (9-11, 5-5 Ivy) bounced back to generate much-needed momentum. With the weekend sweep, the women's squad now sits in fifth place in the Ivy League standings.
Cornell (6-15, 3-7 Ivy) fell to sixth place after dropping both weekend games, while Columbia (11-11, 2-7 Ivy) trails by half a game in seventh.
On Friday, the Big Green was eager to even its season series against a Big Red squad that had defeated Dartmouth earlier in the month.
Set on redemption, the women's squad began the opening frame with well transitioned attacks and a tight defensive frontline. Capitalizing on unforced errors by Cornell, the Big Green steadily pulled away toward the middle of the frame, riding its momentum swing to take the first set, 25-20.
"It is extremely important to win the first set because it gives us a huge advantage in the second," co-captain Megan MacGregor '10 said. "Our goal is always to win at least one of the first two sets, if not both."
Having settled into a consistent tempo, Dartmouth continued to push its advantage, building a seven-point lead midway through the second frame. Despite an impressive Big Red rally down the stretch, Dartmouth was able to edge out the visitors, 25-22.
Collected and undaunted, the Big Red matched Dartmouth's consistency in the third frame, with neither team leading by more than two points throughout the set.
Deadlocked at 24 apiece, however, a lapse in the Big Green offense gave Cornell the opportunity it needed to eke out a hard-fought third-set victory, 26-24.
Quick to counter, Dartmouth took an early advantage in the fourth frame before Cornell steadily narrowed the gap to even the score at 18.
Two timely kills by co-captain Morgan Covington '10 gave the Big Green a small but crucial lead. Dartmouth would never back down, netting a 5-2 run to finish the fourth set, 25-20, and thereby defeating the Big Red, 3-1.
"We had a great weekend offensively our offense was diverse and effective especially on the big points," MacGregor explained.
Annie Villanueva '12 had a team-high 12 kills with a stellar .414 hitting percentage, while Lexie Campbell '13 recorded a career-high 26 digs.
On Saturday against Columbia, the Big Green looked to complete its first weekend doubleheader sweep of the season.
The Lions, however, were ready to pounce, building an early four-point advantage in the first set. Backed by a rowdy home crowd, Dartmouth rallied behind kills by Covington and Campbell. A strike by Alissa Santa Maria '13 capped off a last-minute Big Green surge that helped secure the opening frame, 25-22.
The second set saw shifts in momentum on both sides, as both teams struggled to maintain their respective advantages. Trailing by one at 23-24, the Big Green fought off set point and recaptured a one-point lead before the visitors notched three straight points to close out a tight second frame.
Dartmouth quickly answered back in the third set with a balanced attack against a struggling Lions' frontline. Up by three at 14-11, the Big Green began to pull away behind a series of solid strikes from its outside hitters. The home team would go on to win the decisive third set, 25-17.
The fourth set was tight early, as the two squads tried to establish the dominant tempo. Tied at eight, the Lions, however, began to falter, as Dartmouth capitalized on a series of miscues and missteps by the opponent.
Although Columbia eventually managed to cut the lead to two, the Big Green maintained the upper hand, stifling the Lions' attack and running away with fourth frame, 25-16, to finish the match, 3-1.
MacGregor led all players with 25 kills, while Santa Maria posted a career-high 42 assists. Jessie Hartman '11 earned a game-high 26 digs.
The women's squad will be back in action next week at Leede Arena with rematches against Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday.
"We are definitely looking to redeem ourselves from the last time," Covington said. "I think Yale and Brown are going to see a completely different team from the one they saw two weeks ago."
