SEASON RECAP: Trio of Streaks Kills Harvard’s Momentum

Coming off of a winless 2005 Ivy campaign, the Harvard women’s volleyball team was hungry to prove in 2006 that the previous year was a fluke.

Armed with a young nucleus—the team had just two seniors—Harvard displayed its energy immediately, taking two of its first three matches at the Harvard Invitational.

The Crimson then traveled to California to take on three West Coast foes in the San Jose State Hyatt Invitational. Despite falling, 3-0, in all three matches, the team meshed there and felt fired up to enter Ivy play.

“It was a great learning experience for our team,” senior Sarah Cebron said following the trip. “We definitely improved as the weekend went on.”

Upon returning east, Harvard fell once more in a tough five-game non-conference battle at New Hampshire to fall to 2-5 on the season entering Ivy play.

Then, the Crimson got hot, opening the Ivies with a convincing 3-1 victory over Dartmouth, the first of an impressive six straight victories, including another Ivy win at Dartmouth, to get to 2-0 in league play.

Rising senior Suzie Trimble played a big role in the two Ivy victories. The middle blocker notched 23 kills in the first win, followed up by a 13-kill performance the following week.

“Suzie is awesome—capital letters awesome,” said junior outside hitter Laura Mahon after Trimble’s 23-kill effort.

Also key to success was the play from the team’s freshmen. Libero Katherine Kocurek notched a career-high 39 digs at Dartmouth, while setter Lily Durwood tallied 35 assists in Harvard’s home victory over the Big Green. Right-side hitter Chelsea Ono Horn also made her impact felt.

“The freshmen really pushed a lot of the others for playing spots and were able to bring that element of competition to the team,” Trimble said. “I felt like they pushed us all harder, and you could see the direct results.”

Just as things were beginning to click for Harvard, a daunting schedule of Ivy opponents faced the Crimson in two subsequent weekends. After taking a 2-1 advantage over Penn in the first of those matches, Harvard faltered, succumbing to the Quakers in five games.

This loss sparked another streak, as Harvard went on to lose its next three Ivy matches to Princeton, Yale, and Brown.

Despite the losses, strong individual performances gave the Crimson a positive outlook. Senior Katie Turley-Moloney notched 13 kills and 12 digs against Princeton, while sophomore Kathryn McKinley had 12 kills and 24 digs against Yale.

On the road, Harvard briefly got back on the winning track, defeating Columbia in five games to move to 3-4 in the Ivy League. However, the victory was followed by another four-match losing streak, and the Crimson’s hopes to compete for the Ivy League title were dashed.

This streak included two five-game heartbreak losses against Penn and Cornell. After falling in a 2-0 hole to the Quakers, Harvard battled to force a fifth game before falling, 3-2. The following weekend, Harvard jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the eventual Ivy champion Big Red before losing three straight games and the match.

The Crimson finished the season winning two of its final three matches, defeating Columbia and Brown before falling to Yale in the season finale.

But with only two graduating seniors, Harvard will enter 2007 tested and ready.

“We’re going in with a fighting spirit,” Trimble said. “We feel ready and prepared, and we’re going in with a positive attitude.”

—Staff writer Kevin C. Reyes can be reached at kreyes@fas.harvard.edu.