Harvard Grabs Second Ivy Win

The wins just keep on coming.

Traveling this past weekend to Hanover, N.H., for the Dartmouth Invitational, the Harvard women’s volleyball team prevailed in two come-from-behind nailbiters and a blowout, capturing the tournament title and moving to 2-0 in the Ivy League.

Against both Dartmouth on Friday night and non-league foe Robert Morris on Saturday morning, the Crimson (8-5) dropped the first two frames before storming back to win the match in five.

“Because of the mental toughness and the trust that we have in each other,” senior setter Sarah Cebron said, “we know that we can come back and win in any situation.”

Harvard capped off the weekend with a three-game rout of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), giving the Crimson the tournament title.

Cebron and classmate Katie Turley-Molony were named to the All-Tournament team.

“Both of them played so well this weekend,” junior co-captain Laura Mahon said. “It was really great that they were leading and keeping everyone pumped up.”

Having completed its non-conference slate, Harvard will enter the heart of its Ivy schedule this weekend when Penn and Princeton come to town.

Though the Quakers have had an up-and-down preseason, the Tigers have won three tournaments and will provide a true test for the Crimson on Saturday afternoon.

“Princeton tends to be good defensively, so it’s a question of having a really solid offense and also matching [the Tigers’] defense,” Mahon said. “Against Penn, we’re going to try to outpower them on offense.”

HARVARD 3, NJIT 0

After two extended contests, Harvard was able to ease past the Highlanders, sweeping NJIT, 3-0 (30-17, 30-17, 30-23), on Saturday afternoon.

The Highlanders, having already been swept by the Colonials and the Big Green, were unable to find an answer for the Crimson’s powerful offense.

Harvard’s serve kept NJIT off balance and allowed the Crimson to coast to the tournament title.

“We really served them aggressively,” Cebron said. “It kept them out of system.”

HARVARD 3, ROBERT MORRIS 2

Just more than 12 hours removed from its marathon victory against Dartmouth, the Crimson won another thrilling come-from-behind contest, defeating Robert Morris, 3-2 (17-30, 28-30, 30-20, 34-32, 15-13), on Saturday morning.

Harvard came out slow to start the match as the Colonials mustered a 30-17 win in game one. The Crimson recovered in the second frame, but Robert Morris managed to eke out a 30-28 victory, taking a 2-0 match lead.

Down in a hole, Harvard’s survival instinct kicked in. The Crimson cruised past the Colonials in game three, 30-20, before staving off defeat again with a tight 34-32 win in the fourth frame.

“We changed the lineup a few times,” Cebron said, “and we really adapted to the situation.”

Harvard closed out the match, 15-13, to clinch at least a share of the tournament title.

HARVARD 3, DARTMOUTH 2

The rematch. Double or mediocrity.

After facing each other a week ago at the Malkin Athletic Center, the two Ivy League travel partners took the court again in Dartmouth’s territory. Though the Big Green, itching for revenge, provided the Crimson with all the trouble it could handle, Harvard pulled out a five-frame victory, 3-2 (21-30, 22-30, 30-27, 30-16, 15-13), to sweep the season series.

“It really comes down to believing you’re going to win,” Mahon said. “We don’t ever doubt our ability to win a match.”

The turning point of the match came in the third frame. With the Big Green having dominated games one and two—and hitting .419 in the opening frame—the Crimson needed to make some adjustments.

Harvard did just that. Posting 19 kills and siding out 64% of the time, the Crimson pulled out a 30-27 victory to cut Dartmouth’s match lead to 2-1.

“In the first game, Dartmouth had come out wanting to win, playing the best I had ever seen them play,” Cebron said. “But in the third game, everyone just stepped up. We decided there was no way that we were losing this game.”

Harvard’s defense took over the rest of the way. The Crimson held the Big Green to -.037 hitting in game four en route to a 30-17 win before battling to complete its comeback, 15-13.

Turley-Molony, who usually starts at middle hitter, was a revelation on the outside, just missing a triple-double with 18 kills, 14 digs, and 7 blocks.

“Katie came in on the outside in the Dartmouth match and made a huge impact for us,” Mahon said. “We’re now proving to ourselves that we can win in any situation.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.