Women's Volleyball Completes Three Team Sweep at New England Challenge

The Harvard women’s volleyball team can claim the title as the queen of New England after completing a three-game sweep of Boston College, Northeastern, and UMass Lowell this weekend.

This performance comes just a week before the Crimson(5-4) match up against their first Ancient Eight opponent in Dartmouth on Sept. 22 and earned Harvard their first winning record of the season.

“We have made some huge improvements over the last few weekends of play before we face Ivy League teams,” junior blocker Jocelyn Meyer said. “We are excited to finalize our adjustments heading into conference play.”

HARVARD 3, NORTHEASTERN 1

A first set defeat did not afflict the resiliency of the Crimson, as they fought back and earned 25 points in the ensuing three sets for the game victory against the crosstown Huskies(5-6).

Harvard maintained a balanced attack throughout the match, finishing with over 11 kills in each of the four sets. In addition, five Crimson players posted double-digit kill numbers with junior co-captain Christina Cornelius notching a team-high 13 kills.

The two teams were mostly deadlocked throughout the first set, with Harvard maintaining a slight lead up to the conclusion of the set. But the Crimson failed to capitalize on a double set point opportunity at 24-22, trading points until 26-26.

Kills by Northeastern sophomore hitters Amy Underdown and Natalie Shollin were ultimately the final signatures on the 54 point set card.

Undeterred by the events of the first set, Harvard held its ground throughout much of set two before sprinting to the 25 point set line with a 5-1 run at the conclusion of the set.

“I feel like the change was that we really wanted to earn every point,” Cornelius said. “ So instead of waiting for our opponent to make mistakes, we were trying to stay on top of things and stay super focused and aggressive to be able to control the game.”

The Crimson maintained its high-octane offense in the third set, breaking away at the halfway point of the set with a 19-13 lead. The Huskies battled back with a 6-0 run, but Harvard held its ground late in the set with powerful kills by sophomore blocker Maclaine Fields and Meyer.

Those kills were two of 14 total set kills over 38 attempts for the Crimson. Harvard would finish with 57 kills in the game overall, with a kill percentage of .222.

To conclude the game, the Crimson cruised through in a 25-18 fourth set score. This marked Northeastern’s first home loss since 2015, ending its remarkable 12 game streak.

HARVARD 3, UMASS LOWELL 0

The Saturday contest at the Malkin Athletic Center lasted all of 90 minutes as Harvard captured its weekend sweep in resounding fashion.

The Riverhawks (3-7) could not contain an effective Crimson attack that finished with attacking percentages of .226, .400, and .346 in the three respective sets.

The most competitive set was the second set, when UMass Lowell fought to only a one point deficit at 17-18. However, Harvard went on a 5-0 run and broke away from there. Senior hitter Paige Kebe sealed the set with a textbook kill from sophomore setter Erin McCarthy.

The final set saw 11 kills from the Crimson, as they traded leads with the Riverhawks for much of the set before breaking away from a 18-18 deadlock to a 24-18 match point score.

With the game all but sealed, Cornelius delivered the final point two plays later with a powerful kill. This was Cornelius’s ninth kill of the game, only second to freshman hitter Mindie Mabry who finished with ten kills.

This weekend also saw increased minutes for some younger players, such as freshman hitter Sandra Zeng. The Honolulu, Hi. native saw minutes in all three weekend matches, where she finished with 15 digs.

Mabry continued an impressive first season with breakout performances in all three matches and totaled 36 kills, becoming an important lynchpin of the Harvard offense.

“Mindie has been doing a great job at spreading out our offense and making things unpredictable,” Cornelius said. “She is such a force on the court and is so aggressive. It is great to see her take a leadership role in our team so early on as a freshman.”

The Crimson hope to see continued contributions from the freshman as they face Dartmouth Sept. 22 at home to open up conference play.

—Staff writer Henry Zhu can be reached at henry.zhu@thecrimson.com.