The Dartmouth women's volleyball team lost twice at home over the weekend, falling to Yale University in four sets on Friday before dropping a match to Brown University in straight sets on Saturday.
In the first match, the Big Green (2-13, 1-4 Ivy) fell to Yale (9-5, 5-0 Ivy), 25-13, 25-14, 22-25, 25-17. Despite an impressive comeback victory in the third set by Dartmouth, the Bulldogs secured the victory with relative ease in the fourth set.
"Yale's better than they were last year, and last year they won the Ivy League," head coach Erin Lindsey said.
After dropping the first two sets without putting up much of a fight, Dartmouth jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third, though Yale quickly tied it up with a 4-1 run of its own. After a long run of even play, the set was tied at 20 apiece when Dartmouth used a 5-2 run to take the set.
"We did a really good job taking care of our side of the ball," defensive specialist Vivian Snider '14 said. "It was all due to reducing our controllable errors."
In the fourth set, Yale took a quick 10-4 lead behind the play of outside hitter Mollie Rogers. The Bulldogs' lead would eventually grow to as many as 12 points. Although the Big Green made a run late in the set, it proved to be too little, too late.
"We've been giving other teams leads that are hard to come back from even when we play well at the ends of sets," outside hitter Kaira Lujan '16 said. "We're letting them go on big runs because of our mistakes."
The first set was much more lopsided, as the Bulldogs led, 16-5, right out of the gate. Even though Dartmouth settled down midway through the set, the Big Green never truly got into a rhythm and lost the set, 25-13.
The second set went much the same way as Yale jumped out to an 8-2 lead before a Big Green timeout. Once again, the deficit proved too much to overcome as Dartmouth lost the set by a wide margin.
"We weren't prepared for their speed," Lindsey said. "I was still very pleased to get that third set. We just have to sustain that level of play for a full game."
Dartmouth's standouts included outside hitters Alex Schoenberger '15 (11 kills, eight digs, four service aces) and Paige Caridi '16 (eight kills, 12 digs). Libero Holly Harper '15 had 16 digs, while setter Kayden Cook '16 chipped in with 24 assists and 19 digs.
The Bulldogs were led by the play of Rogers and middle blocker Haley Wessels, who registered 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Setters Kelly Johnson (nine kills, 24 assists, 10 digs) and Kendall Polan (six kills, 22 assists, 18 digs) also did their part to aid the team effort.
On Saturday, the Big Green took on Brown (5-10, 1-4 Ivy) at home. Despite two closely contested sets in the second and the third, the Big Green lost in straight sets 25-18, 26-24, 25-21.
Dartmouth seemed lethargic in the beginning of the match, trailing early by a score of 14-7. Although they managed to close the deficit to as little as three points, they eventually dropped the set by seven.
"We completely came out flat," Lujan said. "We talked about that beforehand, and it's definitely something we still need to work on."
In the second set, Dartmouth took a 14-7 lead behind the play of Caridi and Schoenberger. Brown fought back, however, forcing a 15-15 tie. The teams played point-for-point for much of the set, until the Bears pulled away at the end to take a 26-24 win.
"I was disappointed with losing the 14-7 lead," Lindsey said. "We did a great job pulling away, but we just gave it all back."
The third set was just as tight, as Brown took an early four-point lead that the Big Green quickly erased. The two teams were tied at 21 before Brown uncorked a 4-0 run to take the set and the match.
"We had some really great moments, but we have a tendency to lay back and take mental breaks," Snider said. "We can't let them go on runs against us."
The Big Green was led by Cook (25 assists, 13 digs) and Caridi (eight kills, 11 digs). Allison Brady '16 (eight kills), Lucia Pohlman '15 (two service aces, eight digs), Elisa Scudder '14 (seven kills, three service aces) and Harper (16 digs) all contributed strong performances in the losing effort.
The Bears' standout performers included Katrina Post (12 kills, 12 digs) and Maddie Lord (13 kills, five digs). Kathryn Conner led the team in digs with 30.
The Big Green looks to bounce back next weekend as it travels to New York to take on Columbia University on Friday night and Cornell University on Saturday.
