Hartman said she does not believe the team played to its potential against Columbia.
"I don't think we ever showed them the team that we really are," she said.
While Columbia led for the majority of the first set, Dartmouth came back with a vengeance toward the end and took the lead 23-21. Unfortunately, the Big Green could not hold on to its advantage and Columbia scored the next three points to make it 24-23. A kill by Kelsey Johnson '11 tied the score once more, but the Lions put the next two points on the board for the 26-24 win.
Columbia carried its winning momentum into the second set, taking the lead from the beginning and never looking back. The Lions managed an eight-point run, assisted by three straight service aces from freshman Madeline Rumer. The final score was 25-15.
The third game saw the Lions coming out again with a strong lead, boasting a 17-11 advantage in the middle of the game. Dartmouth fought hard to stay close behind, bringing the score as close as 23-20, but a Columbia kill and Dartmouth error ended the set at 25-20.
Hartman said she attributes part of the loss to the team's five-game losing streak and the mental slump the Big Green found itself in following the losses.
"Once you get into a slump, it's hard to dig deep and find a way to pull yourself out of it," Hartman said. "We didn't even really show up on Friday night."
Madeline Baird '12 was the only Dartmouth player to amass double-digit kills on Friday, with a total of 14. Baird also led the team with 14 digs, while Amber Bryant '12 recorded 11.
The Big Green saw the light at the end of the tunnel with its hard-fought win over Cornell.
Hartman said that the women on the team came to a joint decision before the game that they simply could not return home without a win.
"We came out with much better energy than we had in the last three weeks, and you could just feel the difference on the court," she said.
The two teams were neck-and-neck for the entirety of the match, and each of Dartmouth's set victories were by a mere two points.
In the first set, Dartmouth took the lead immediately, but Cornell came from behind and took a 23-22 lead late in the set. The Big Red proceeded to take two of the last three points to seal the win.
The second set was a reversal of the first, when the Big Green went on a run late in the set to take the win. Cornell stood firm with a 23-20 lead, but Dartmouth, assisted by an ace from Bryant and a kill by Elisa Scudder '14, shattered the margin and sealed a 25-23 win.
Cornell won the third set easily by a score of 25-18, but the fourth set was a fight for both sides. With the set tied at 23-23, Annie Villanueva '12 and Cornell junior Madeleine Przybyl each notched a kill to bring the score to 24-24. An error by Cornell gave Dartmouth the advantage, which Lexi Campbell '13 capitalized on with an ace to win the set 26-24.
"The fourth game was a huge momentum change, and it was really clutch to winning the match," she said.
The fifth game was a nail biter. A Dartmouth error gave Cornell the 15-14 lead and a chance to end the match, before a kill by Scudder tied the score once more. The next two points saw the teams trading kills, again tying the set at 16-16. Baird went on to one-up Cornell with a kill, and then an attack error by Cornell gave the Big Green the win.
Five Dartmouth players recorded double-digit kills, reflecting the team's spread of offensive power. Baird notched 21, Campbell had a career-high 16, Johnson, 13 ,Scudder, 12 and Villanueva, 10.
Several players contributed to the team's defense prowess, with five players recording double-digit digs.
Hartman said she is optimistic about the team's upcoming weekend matches against Yale University and Brown University.
"We are feeling really good right now as a team, and I think we just needed to snap that losing streak," she said.
The Big Green will play on the road in New Haven, Conn., against Yale on Friday and Brown in Providence, R.I., on Saturday.
