With Strong Rookies, Women's Volleyball Moves On

The last time the Harvard women’s volleyball team walked off the court, the Crimson was putting the finishing touches on a winless Ivy League season.

This past weekend, Harvard’s players showed they had put 2005 behind them, knocking off two non-conference opponents at the season-opening Harvard Invitational at the Malkin Athletic Center.

“All our upperclassmen have worked since February to change the momentum,” Crimson coach Jennifer Weiss said. “They’ve experienced winning, and then they’ve experienced losing, so they know what it takes to get over the hump and win.”

Harvard (2-1) defeated Binghamton in a thrilling five-framer on Friday night before splitting its contests with Rutgers and eventual champion Long Island on Saturday.

Moving more quickly on defense and passing smoothly, the Crimson displayed team chemistry despite featuring five rookies, three of whom saw significant playing time throughout the weekend.

“Fearless freshmen—we love it,” Weiss said. “We’ve known them for a long time in terms of recruiting, so we knew they would fit into our system.”

Junior co-captains Laura Mahon and Suzie Trimble were both named to the All-Tournament Team. Trimble hit .408 on the weekend, while Mahon posted 35 kills and 50 digs over the three matches.

HARVARD 3, RUTGERS 1

After a slow start, the Crimson dominated the visiting Scarlet Knights for most of the match, topping Rutgers 3-1 (24-30, 30-22, 30-15, 32-30) on Saturday afternoon.

In game one, the Scarlet Knight offense controlled the tempo, registering just two attack errors and notching 21 kills. Though neither team led by more than two points through the middle of the frame, Rutgers (3-6) slowly increased its lead and won 10 of the last 15 points to take the opener, 30-24.

The next two games, however, it was the Harvard offense that was in sync. Led by the outstanding play of senior middle hitter Katie Turley-Molony, the Crimson posted 32 total kills and just six errors and steamrolled to victories of 30-22 and 30-15 to take a 2-1 match lead.

“Some of our hitters really turned it on,” Weiss said. “Our setting decisions were giving them a little more space so they had the opportunity to be one-on-one [against the Rutgers block], and they were swinging quicker and harder.”

Though the Scarlet Knights recovered in the fourth frame, Harvard demonstrated its ability to win tight games, fighting off a match point at 29-30 before closing out the match, 32-30.

LONG ISLAND 3, HARVARD 0

Coming off a Northeast Conference championship and having already played seven matches this season, a better prepared Blackbird team swept the Crimson, winning 3-0 (30-22, 30-23, 32-30) on Saturday morning.

Long Island (6-4) kept the Harvard offense off balance through the first two frames, holding the Crimson to sub-.200 hitting. Featuring bigger players, many of whom had international experience, the Blackbirds controlled the play at the net to win games one and two.

Harvard rebounded in the third frame, forcing 17 tie scores and taking a lead for just the second time all night. But though the Crimson had two game points at 29-27, Long Island went on a 5-1 run to capture its second victory of the tournament.

HARVARD 3, BINGHAMTON 2

Two times, Harvard threw away chances to win. But when the Crimson faced an almost irreversible deficit, Harvard displayed its grit, fighting off five consecutive match points to steal a five-game thriller, 3-2 (30-25, 36-34, 29-31, 28-30, 17-15), from the reigning America East champions on Friday night.

After winning the first two frames, the Crimson had a chance to close out the match when a kill by sophomore outside hitter Kathryn McKinley gave Harvard a 29-27 lead in game three. But Binghamton (2-8) delivered in the clutch, winning the next four points to stay alive.

Still, the Crimson did not lose hope in the fourth, powering ahead on a series of kills by Trimble to open up a 22-12 margin. But the Bearcats slowly whittled the lead and then put together an 8-1 streak to shock Harvard with a 30-28 victory, tying the match at two games apiece.

“There were definitely times where we could have finished [the match] earlier than later,” Weiss acknowledged.

Riding its momentum, Binghamton raced out to a 7-1 lead in the deciding fifth frame. The Crimson clawed its way back, getting within one before the Bearcats took five of the next six points to set up several match points at 14-9.

But Harvard would not go away. After a kill by junior right-side hitter Mimi Hanley staved off the first match point, senior setter Sarah Cebron’s aggressive serving allowed the Crimson to dig out of its hole.

Harvard’s 8-1 run to close out the match showed just how far the team has come from last year.

“To get down in the fifth, and to be able to come back from 14-9—I cannot even remember a collegiate game where we’ve come back from 14-9,” Mahon said.

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