W. Volleyball Ends Tough Weekend With Win

A close win against New Hampshire on Saturday salvaged what was left of a tough weekend for the Harvard women's volleyball team (5-6).

The Crimson went 1-3 against tough competition at the IKON Husky Volleyball Classic in Storrs, Conn., failing to win a game against strong national-level programs in UConn, Southern Methodist and New Mexico.

"We were disappointed with our performance in the first few matches," junior setter Julie Yick said.

But the UNH win, Harvard's fifth match in five days, was a bright spot.

"It was a great way to end the weekend," junior middle hitter Katherine Hart said. "We had a pretty rough time in our first three matches, and then we were able to turn things around."

UConn 3, Harvard 0

Against host UConn (8-3), Harvard fought as much as it could against a Big East power before falling 15-9, 15-8, 15-13.

"The third game was very close," Hart said. "We had a big comeback at the end."

UConn jumped out to a 13-3 lead before Harvard started chipping away at the game, bringing the score to 13-13, before surrendering to the Huskies the last two points of the match.

"We definitely felt good to not just lie down and let them take the game," Hart said.

UConn freshman outside hitter Stephanie Ziemann led the Huskies with 12 kills.

"Connecticut is a strong team," Hart said. "They are usually one of the strongest teams in the Northeast and they didn't blow us out. We were competing with them, but I think that we could have done better."

Southern Methodist 3, Harvard 0

The Crimson doesn't get out to Dallas much. In fact, Harvard had never faced Southern Methodist (10-6) until Friday, so the team didn't know just what to expect.

It certainly didn't expect a 15-9, 15-4, 15-8 Mustang stampede by the eventual tournament champions.

SMU senior outside hitter Erin Pryor, on her way to becoming the tournament MVP, spearheaded the attack, finishing with 19 kills on 25 attempts for a remarkable .720 hitting percentage.

Junior outside hitter Angela Lutich, who would wind up on the all-tournament team, led the Crimson with 11 kills in the match.

Yick and freshman Mindy Jellin split the setting duties, finishing with 14 and 10 set assists, respectively.

Junior middle hitter Katherine Hart, normally known for her offensive prowess, directed the defense with 10 digs, but Harvard was out-killed 47-21 in the match.

New Mexico 3, Harvard 0

It wasn't quite the war between the states, but it might have been a war between generations.

A team from one of the oldest states in the union and a team from one of the youngest tangled on a neutral volleyball court Saturday.

But it would be the youngsters from New Mexico (5-11), who would prevail over Harvard, 15-4, 15-11, 15-11.

Sophomore outside hitter Erin Denniston led the Crimson with 10 kills. Lutich added eight kills and 15 digs in the losing cause.

"[SMU and New Mexico are] both strong programs, but we really ought to have been able to hang in there with them," Yick said.

The Crimson played SMU and New Mexico without junior outside hitter Linda Jellison in the lineup. Jellison, a starter, was nursing a back injury.

"We missed [her presence] during those matches," Hart said. "She's trying to be kind of careful in making sure she doesn't overdo it and cause any serious or permanent damage."

Harvard 3, UNH 2

New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free or Die," and the UNH volleyball team (8-7) died Saturday in the fifth game of its match against Harvard.

The Crimson used strong blocking to down the Wildcats in the rally-scored fifth game of the match, winning 15-9, 17-15, 12-15, 4-15, 15-10.

"We were passing well, playing consistently and playing well as a team," Yick said.

Denniston and Lutich had 19 and 16 kills, respectively, and Lutich added 13 digs.

Jellison returned to the lineup with a strong 14-assist, 11-dig showing.

Hart added 13 kills, 11 digs and six blocks in an all-around performance.

"Since they're from New England, it is nice to beat a team from our region," Hart said. "That got us fired up for the match. We really hadn't done very well leading up to that match. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could turn the weekend around, and I think we did that."

The Crimson will travel to Amherst tomorrow to face a perennially strong UMass team.

"We don't have a lot of time to sit around and think about what happened this weekend," Hart said. "We have to get back out there and play a tough match on Tuesday."