Senior Day Doesn’t Bring Reversal of Recent Fortune

The women’s volleyball team played two thrilling yet heartbreaking matches against Penn and Princeton on Friday and Saturday, falling 3-2 both times. Though the Crimson (9-15, 4-8 Ivy) produced flashes of brilliance at times and executed well on offense, the Quakers (11-11, 7-3) and Tigers (16-3, 10-1) proved too much for a younger Harvard team.

“We played point-for-point [with Penn and Princeton] a lot of times,” Crimson coach Jennifer Weiss said. “We really had them on the ropes. Friday night, it was a matter of a couple of blocks, and with Princeton, it was the slide attack that resulted in us falling short.”

The Crimson finishes out the season on a road trip to New York next weekend, playing Columbia on Friday and Cornell the next day.

“We had joked around about steamrolling [the opposing team] each time,” Weiss said. “That’s what we plan on doing on the road to New York.”

PRINCETON 3, HARVARD 2

The women’s squad took time to honor its three seniors—Anna Rachlin, Laura Mays, and Kathryn McKinley—before the last home game of the season. After pre-game ceremonies, Harvard came out rolling and ready to play, winning the first two games. But Princeton came from behind to take the last three games and beat Harvard, 3-2 (27-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-22, 15-7).

Falling behind 9-2 early in the first, the Crimson engineered a brilliant comeback fueled by freshman Anne Carroll Ingersoll’s key blocks to take the game 27-25. It was in the second game, however, that Harvard played its strongest volleyball of the night.

Led by McKinley and sophomore Mikaelle Comrie, who posted nine and seven kills, respectively, the Crimson turned in a solid overall performance. The defense limited the Tigers to a .135 hitting percentage, while Harvard appeared to be firing on all cylinders, registering a .306 clip.

“We showed Princeton what Harvard volleyball is all about,” McKinley said. “We really came out and killed them the first two games. I don’t think Princeton has ever been beaten 25-15 this season yet. It was just great beating them at their own game at home with the people we love.”

But it would go all downhill from there.

In the third game, the Crimson and Tigers would switch roles. Despite dominating the previous game just moments before, Harvard lost its offensive presence, hitting only .167. Princeton, on the other hand, caught fire and hit an incredible .437.

“Their ball control shifted,” Weiss said. “We didn’t switch any matchups, but they got the ball to the setter, so the setter was up in the box and had two options: she could set it up to the four or to the nine.”

Never looking back, the Tigers held the lead the entire game and their 15 kills allowed them to pull away 25-13.

“Something that’s always happened with our team is that we’ve given them a couple of games and then we don’t stop them right at that first game,” McKinley said. “Princeton started to push back; they weren’t going to roll over in that third game. We were sort of waiting for the win.”

Despite several lead changes, the Crimson was forced to play catch-up throughout the fourth and fifth games.Harvard would end up losing the next two games 25-22 and 15-7.

Overall, McKinley led the Crimson’s efforts with a double-double, recording 19 kills and 11 digs. Freshman sensation Christine Wu contributed a career-high 40 digs.

PENN 3, HARVARD 2

Harvard also put forth a strong showing against the Quakers on Friday, fighting until the finish in a 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 19-17) defeat.

McKinley and Comrie led the Crimson with 19 kills apiece, while junior co-captain Kocurek recorded 12 digs and served four aces. Wu also made her presence felt on the court, registering 32 digs—a career-high up to that point.

“[Wu]’s got a great sense of the game, and she just puts it out there,” Weiss said. “She’s a great defender and server. She’s an impact to the league and we’re excited about her potential.”

Harvard won the first battle, capturing a 25-20 victory after hitting .364 in the game. Despite several rallies by Penn, the Crimson managed to hold on after consecutive kills by McKinley and Comrie.

The rest of the game went back-and-forth, as both teams traded points until the Quakers squeaked out a climactic 19-17 win in the fifth game to win the game. And though Harvard held the advantage in kills, 70-63, digs, 79-70, and aces, 7-3, the Quakers dominated in blocks, 15-7.5, a stat that proved to be too costly for the Crimson.