W. Volleyball Tunes Up For Ivy Tournment

It was a special weekend for the women's volleyball team captains Melissa Forcum and Kate Nash and seniors Anne Schafer and Catherine Betti. The four played their final games at the Malkin Athletic Center against Siena, Fairfield, Marist, Holy Cross and Brown. The Crimson finished 3-1--a successful weekend to culminate four successful careers.

"We have been bracing ourselves to face our last home matches, but nevertheless it was a sad experience," Schafer said. "Harvard volleyball has been a really positive experience; it has been a family to me. I am really going to miss it."

"Things haven't really hit me yet and they probably won't until it is completely over," Focrum said. "It was pretty emotional."

Though these were the final games at home, the season is far from over. The team viewed the Invitational as preparation for next weekend's Ivy League tournament at Brown.

"We were looking for a springboard to the Ivy League Tournament. We wanted it to be a low pressure situation where we could push ourselves and polish our game," Schafer said.

Harvard got off to a solid start Friday afternoon, defeating Marist 3-0 (15-10, 15-5, 17-15). Forcum and freshman Erin Denniston led the team with 19 and 16 kills, respectively, and Nash had an impressive 53 assists.

Focrum entered the Invitational ranked third in the tournament among kill leaders with an average of 3.38 per game and fourth among dig leaders with 3.32 per game. Nash entered the tournament ranked third in assists with an average of 9.66 per game.

Friday evening proved more difficult, however, as the Crimson fell 4-15, 3-15, 10-15 to Fairfield, Harvard's most substantive competition. The team netted only 22 kills, compared to 59 against Marist. Fairfield was led by the play of Joanne Saunders--who had 10 kills--and Liz Bower with 28 assists.

"We didn't play well," said junior Linda Jellison, "but they are a strong Division I team."

The first loss would also be the last. The team came out with a fire and energy on Saturday that easily dismantled Holy Cross, 15-10, 15-5, 15-5. Forcum was again the kill leader with a tally of 14, followed by junior Linda Jellison and Schafer who racked up 10 and 7, respectively. Nash had 15 assists in Game One, followed by sophomore Julie Yick who turned a great performance in Games Two and Three with 2 kills and 23 assists.

The afternoon match against Siena College was a bit more challenging, but presented nothing Harvard could not overcome. They defeated Sienna 15-8, 15-13, 13-15, 16-14, an especially sweet victory which capped off the home season for the team, and the careers of the four seniors.

"I was proud of the way we fought back. Games Three and Four were tough. Our passing pulled us through in the fourth game," Forcum said.

The team collaborated for a total of 80 kills--24 by Forcum and 21 each by Jellison and Denniston. Yick earned a kill and 32 assists while Nash, who played three of the games, had two kills and 32 assists.

"We played tough, aggressive, and point by point, which is very important," Betti said. "The match against Siena was definitely the highlight of the weekend. It's been a great four years and it is nice to end with a victory."

In other action this weekend, Fairfield went 4-0, while Brown equaled the Crimson at 3-1.

The Harvard will now prepare to head to head to Providence next weekend for the Ivy League Tournament.

"We have a lot of players just coming back [from injury] so we will be working on getting back to full force," Jellison said. "This weekend is always good preparation for the Ivies."

The Crimson enters the double-elimination tournament seeded fifth. Brown, who went undefeated during the season, is seeded first.

Harvard's faces its first match against Yale (seeded fourth) on Friday. The Crimson will be looking to avenge it's regular-season loss to the Bulldogs, as it begins its quest for the championship. If successful, the team will not only capture the Ivy title but will also earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

"Next weekend I just hope to continue the same and lead the team as well or better than I have during the season," Focrum said. "This is the most exciting time. We are really psyched. We have fourteen healthy bodies back on the court." MARIST  0 HARVARD  3

FAIRFIELD  3 HARVARD  0

HOLY CROSS  0 HARVARD  3

SIENNA  1 HARVARD  3

FAIRFIELD  3 HARVARD  0

HOLY CROSS  0 HARVARD  3

SIENNA  1 HARVARD  3

HOLY CROSS  0 HARVARD  3

SIENNA  1 HARVARD  3

SIENNA  1 HARVARD  3