W. Volleyball Ready To Go

The Harvard women's volleyball team went up 1-0 against Portland on this past Sunday's New England Invitational. And then they kept on pounding. The Crimson ground down Portland one point at a time, maintaining a concentrated focus throughout the match.

With the eventual 3-0 win, Harvard closed out the tournament. It had already lost its first match to Boston College the night before, 3-2, but had followed with a win over Saint Peter's from New Jersey earlier in the day. The Portland win gave the Crimson a 2-1 overall match play record and the tournament title, setting the tone for what the team hopes will be a winning season.

Team members hope the focus on consistency and poise they displayed in the Portland match will propel this year's team towards the Ivy League title.

"We will continue to look at every game as a stepping stone in the season's progression," sophomore outside hitter Erin Denniston said.

Coach Jennifer Weiss, in her seventh year at Harvard, returns to lead the Crimson this fall. Her line-up contains strong contingents in each of the class years. Co-captains Linda Jellison, an outside hitter and All-Ivy Honorable Mention, and Kristen Schaeffer, a middle blocker, are joined by two other senior teammates, Laurel Rayburn and Kristen Priscella.

Katherine Hart heads up the junior contingent along with Angela Lutich, Sarah Mattson and Julie Yick. Hart was also this weekend's tournament MVP for her impressive 27 kills, 37 digs and 13 blocks. Denniston, an All-Ivy Honorable Mention selection last year, is the only returning starter, but classmate Kira Whelan has jumped up from the junior varsity.

The freshman recruiting class, following last year's strong class, has the potential to be as strong and will be contending for starting positions. Liz Cebron, Vanessa Scott, and Mindy Jellin are the names to watch. Both Scott and Jellin are contending at the setter position.

The New England Invitational is the beginning of a taxing fall schedule. Last year, the busy match schedule and the lack of rest contributed to a number of nagging injuries that sidelined as many as four starters in one month.

"We know that we need to stay healthy to contend for the title," Schaeffer said. "Last year's injuries were very damaging to the team's chances for success."

This week, the Crimson will take on Fairfield on Friday and then both St. John's and Rutgers on Saturday. Other opponents in the following weeks will be UConn, UMass and Holy Cross, which will lead up to the Ivy League season opener, against Cornell on Oct. 8.

The league matches are the key contests because they determine the tournament seedings at the end of the season. The winner of the Ivy League gains the coveted NCAA tournament berth.

Last year, Harvard was knocked out by Yale in the Ivy tournament, so the team is setting its sights again on the Ivy title.

"Every year the NCAA tournament is the goal, and we view each Ivy league game as a possible stepping stone towards the post-season," Schaeffer said.

At present though, the focus of the Crimson is simply on maintaining a consistent level of competitive play, one game after another. This weekend's performance was a fine example of the winning attitude.

"We know that we can win if we focus on both composure and execution," Denniston said.