Early Struggles Down Crimson

All good things must come to an end.

The women’s volleyball team, which had been riding a six game win streak, unsuccessfully battled Brown and Yale over the weekend in the Crimson’s first Ivy doubleheader of the year.

Harvard (7-9, 2-2 Ivy) dropped both of its games. On Friday, the Crimson fought it out with the Bears (9-7, 1-3) in the Pizzitola Center, losing 25-19, 23-25, 30-28, 25-19.

Traveling to New Haven the next day, Harvard confronted the Bulldogs (10-3, 4-0) in an exhausting five-game match that ultimately went the Eli’s way, 25-19, 25-19, 13-25, 20-25, 15-11.

Throughout both matchups, the Crimson slipped into the bad habits that characterized most of its preseason games, allowing its opponent to control the game’s momentum with long offensive streaks.

However, Harvard did demonstrate resiliency, pushing one game beyond 25 against Brown and then forcing a close fifth frame against Yale the following day.

“We ended the weekend playing the way we know how to play,” senior Kathryn McKinley said. “There were no big blaring problems with our system or our level of play.”

McKinley played a key role in the Crimson’s efforts, posting back-to-back double-doubles. Throughout the weekend, she racked up 46 kills and 39 digs while maintaining a .376 hitting percentage.

“Kat was incredible, making kills out of nothing,” junior co-captain Lily Durwood said. “On her second day, she hit .500, which is essentially unheard of for an outside hitter. They couldn’t stop her.”

This weekend, Harvard will turn its focus elsewhere in the Ivy League, as it returns home to play Cornell and Columbia. In three weeks, however, McKinley, Durwood, and the rest of the women’s squad will have another crack at Brown and Yale when the teams square off once again in the Malkin Athletic Center.

“We’re confident in knowing that we can beat Yale and Brown,” McKinley said. “And we will.”

YALE 3, HARVARD 2

Despite a spirited comeback in the third and fourth frames, Harvard failed to walk away with the win in its duel with the Bulldogs.

After falling behind two games to none, Harvard rallied in the third. The score was tight throughout the first half of the game, until McKinley and Durwood connected on three consecutive plays to bring the score to 11-9. Grabbing hold of the momentum, Harvard then utilized consistent serving, a bevy of offensive plays, and momentum-killing defense to go on a 14-4 run and prevent the shutout.

The Crimson kept up its efforts throughout the fourth game, which proved to be tighter and filled with fewer offensive streaks than the third. With the score even at 13-13, freshman Anne Carroll Ingersoll slammed the ball down on the Eli’s court to give the Crimson a lead it would not relinquish.

Aided by five McKinley kills, Harvard jumped out to an early lead in the fifth and final frame, 10-6. The Crimson came to within four points of sealing the victory, but could not convert on its efforts.

Yale capitalized on two untimely Harvard errors with four consecutive Cat Dailey kills as a part of its game-winning 9-1 streak at the end of the fifth.

Many of the game’s statistics favored Harvard: .228 hitting percentage, 61 kills, and 11 blocks compared with Yale’s .187, 54 and nine. According to McKinley, however, the progression of the game was the deciding factor.

“We could help ourselves a lot by coming out stronger,” McKinley said. “If we went into the first point of the first game playing like we did in the third and fourth, we would’ve won it in three.”

BROWN 3, HARVARD 1

The Crimson’s troubles began in the match’s first game. Striking early, Brown took a 6-0 lead using the type of offensive streak that plagued Harvard throughout the weekend. Although the women’s squad soon responded and came back to within four points, the Crimson could not overcome the large lead Brown amassed.

Harvard came alive in the second, leading the game from the first point to the last in what could have been a blowout. However, the Crimson nearly lost the game by giving up a 13-2 run to Brown—the Bears’ rampage was stopped short by a timely kill from junior Chelsea Ono Horn.

Other notable performances came from Durwood, who led the game with 54 assists and freshman Sandra Lynn Fryhoffer, who contributed 12 kills and boasted a .378 attack percentage.

The Crimson was not as fortunate in the third game, which extended past the 25th point and concluded with a Brown victory. A similar fate befell Harvard in the fourth, when the Bears took the lead at 12-11 and carried it to the finish.

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.