Harvard Highlights Weekend With Sweep

Last season, the Crimson women’s volleyball team defeated Columbia in two meetings but lost to Cornell twice.

This season, Harvard had it out for the New York teams and entered each contest looking to prove that it is the better squad—and did so in a weekend sweep at the Malkin Athletic Center. The Crimson (10-11, 6-4 Ivy) overcame Columbia (11-10, 2-6) on Friday night and shellacked Cornell (6-15, 3-7) on Saturday.

Harvard swept the season series versus both opponents, finishing 4-0 against the New York Ivies. These victories move the Crimson up to third place in the Ivy League standings.

HARVARD 3, CORNELL 0

The Crimson trampled the Big Red on Saturday, with set play of 25-21, 25-17, 25-18. The victory represented Harvard’s first season sweep of Cornell since 2002.

The Crimson had a well-balanced attack on Saturday, taking advantage of the Big Red offensively and defensively. Harvard had a 38-36 advantage over Cornell in kills, along with a 59-48 advantage in digs. Senior Lily Durwood notched 30 assists, and junior Mikaelle Comrie led the Crimson with 10 kills—giving her 31 for the weekend. Freshman Taylor Docter also had a big game, with nine kills, three aces, four digs, and four blocks, which Coach Weiss noted is what she is capable of doing consistently.

Defensively, sophomore Christine Wu, co-captain Chelsea Ono Horn, and senior Katherine Kocurek kept the Big Red from getting comfortable. Harvard trailed for the majority of the first set until two consecutive service aces by sophomore Anne Carroll Ingersoll pulled the Crimson ahead, 19-18. Cornell called a time-out to regroup, but during the next play, Wu made a diving save that kept the ball alive and led to a kill by Comrie. From there, the momentum completely shifted in Harvard’s favor.

“Our defense has always been very strong,” Wu said, “both at the net and in the back row. Once we do our jobs in the back row to get it our setter, then our hitters just have to dominate.”

The Crimson came out aggressively and won the first two sets but did not lose its focus in the third—a problem it had the night before.

HARVARD 3, COLUMBIA 2

In its first match of the weekend, Harvard faced Columbia, which entered Cambridge on a three-game losing streak.

Although the Crimson defeated the Lions 3-0 in its last match, Friday night proved to be a challenge for Harvard. The Crimson started strong, winning the first two sets 25-16 and 25-19, but Columbia fought back to win the third and fourth sets.

The contest was particularly close—the score was tied 25 times—during the third and fifth sets. The Lions matched Harvard’s intensity in the third set and were able to shift the momentum in their favor. When the score was tied at 18, Columbia generated a 5-0 run to win the set, 25-22.

By the fourth set, Columbia was clearly in a rhythm, and Harvard trailed for the entire set. The Crimson managed to tie the score twice but were never able to take a lead and lost the set 25-19.

“We were a little over-confident going into the third and fourth games,” Comrie said. “We weren’t necessarily responding very well, so we had to really step up our game and change our game plan.”

The Lions out-defended Harvard on the night, recording 11 team blocks to Harvard’s seven. Weiss responded to Columbia’s resurgence in the game by switching in her starting lineup, and the Crimson held on to win the final set in overtime, 16-14.

“[Columbia is] scrappy,” Comrie said. “We had to use all of our eggs to try and find a way to kill the ball.”

Comrie notched a career-high 21 kills against the Lions, while Ingersoll added 16 kills of her own along with five blocks. Docter and sophomore Sandra Lynne Fryhofer recorded 12 and 14 kills, respectively, and Durwood added to her 3,000-plus career assist total with 59.

Harvard has now won six of its last eight contests heading into next weekend, where it will face two more conference opponents: Yale and Brown.