W. Spikers Finish Strong

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 17-17, 4-3 Ivy

Ivy Tourney Finish: Second

Coach: Jennifer Bates

Key Players: Junior Elissa Hart; Sophomores Kate Nash and Melissa Forcum

1997

Harvard women's volleyball's 17-17 season record, an otherwise equivocal .500 ending statistic, unfortunately hides the team's perseverance, comeback finish and growing team cohesiveness.

Only the final week of tournament drama set against the backdrop of the rest of the season does justice to the squad's talent this fall and potential for success in future years.

With one week remaining in the season and only tournament play left--the Harvard Invitational and the Ivy Championships--Harvard was burdened by a sub-.500 record of 10-15. Furthermore, the Crimson was only 4-3 against Ivy competitors, its last three Ivy games all being losses.

The most frustrating league loss came midseason against a mediocre Penn team just days after a three-game thrashing of league-leader Princeton. Harvard was 4-0 in Ivy action until the Penn game, which set the losing motif for the remaining regular season Ivy games against Yale and Brown.

Despite being situated in the ominous position of having more losses than victories going into its own tournament, Harvard defeated Vermont, Hartford, New Hampshire and even Ivy League- foe Brown to claim the Harvard Invitational title. Thus, the Invitational provided a major confidence boost just five days before the Ivy Championships.

Ranked fourth entering the three-day Ivy Championship tournament at Cornell, Harvard defeated fifth-seeded Dartmouth, 3-1, in first-round action. This solid victory, aside from being Harvard's first-ever first-round Ivy Championship win, also set up a rematch of last year's tournament tiebreaker final, in which Princeton upset Harvard, ending the players' dreams of an NCAA tournament berth.

Princeton, despite being the tournament's top seed and possessing a league-record nine Ivy titles--including the previous four straight--struggled against Harvard. The outcome showed that the Tigers' bark was worse than their bite.

In a match that was perhaps the most captivating of the weekend, Harvard hung tough to claim a 9-15, 15-11, 15-11, 12-15, 15-11 victory, one of only three five-game victories the Crimson garnered throughout the season. Moreover, Harvard climbed above the .500 mark with this victory, its second time out of the hole all year.

In spite of this success, the tournament was far from over. The following day pitted Harvard against third-seeded Brown, the only other team in the tournament that had yet to lose.

Going into this semifinal match, Harvard and Brown had split their previous two encounters during the season. In Harvard's second tiring five-game bout of the tournament, the Bears avenged their Harvard Invitational loss to the Crimson with a triumphant game record of 18-16, 8-15, 7-15, 16-14, 4-15.

Despite being relegated to the loser's bracket, the double- elimination format of the Ivy Championships allowed the Crimson's hopes to remain alive. Building on the momentum generated during the last week of play, Harvard easily bypassed the second-seeded Yale in its quickest victory of the tournament, 15-7, 15-10, 15-4.

That consolation round victory catapulted Harvard into the tournament final, still in the running for the automatic NCAA bid that is bestowed on the Ivy Champion. While only one team stood between the Crimson and the NCAAs, the Brown Bears, this one team presented two ultimately unsurmountable obstacles.

First, the Bears provided a physical barrier for the Crimson to overcome. After two days of exhausting play and two five-game nailbiters, the Crimson were noticeably fatigued. Furthermore, after already losing to Brown the day before, the Bears presented a mental stumbling block as well.

After Harvard won the first point, the Crimson's fatigue became apparent and Brown never looked back, cruising to a victory in three-straight games and clinching the Ivy League title and an NCAA bid, 9-15, 8-15, 5-15.

Despite Harvard's second-place finish, sophomore setter Kate Nash was named the Ivy Tournament MVP. Her 201 assists and 48 digs during the weekend alone made her presence a powerful factor in Harvard's underdog victories. Junior Elissa Hart, who led the Crimson in kills for the season (511) and for the Ivies (74), was named to the All-Tournament team.

Hart also earned first team All-Ivy honors for the season. Nash received Second Team All-Ivy recognition and sophomore Melissa Forcum secured honorable mention.

The 1996-97 season left the Crimson with high hopes for future years. The 17-17 record does not reflect the perseverance and cohesiveness which were integral to the Crimson's late-season comeback.

The defeats, rather than a symptom of deeper problems, are a sign of a team gaining momentum.

"Team unity is as important as team skill, and the net result is the most harmonious team I've played on in terms of getting along, liking each other and working well together," said captain Heather Rypkema. "When you really like your team, you want to win for them more than for yourself."

It is this team unity that began to show in the Harvard Invitational and carried the Crimson to within a match of the Ivy League title and an NCAA bid.

With Rypkema as the only graduating senior, with the entire starting team returning and with solid recruits, the Crimson hope to build on the momentum they realized late in this season

Despite Harvard's second-place finish, sophomore setter Kate Nash was named the Ivy Tournament MVP. Her 201 assists and 48 digs during the weekend alone made her presence a powerful factor in Harvard's underdog victories. Junior Elissa Hart, who led the Crimson in kills for the season (511) and for the Ivies (74), was named to the All-Tournament team.

Hart also earned first team All-Ivy honors for the season. Nash received Second Team All-Ivy recognition and sophomore Melissa Forcum secured honorable mention.

The 1996-97 season left the Crimson with high hopes for future years. The 17-17 record does not reflect the perseverance and cohesiveness which were integral to the Crimson's late-season comeback.

The defeats, rather than a symptom of deeper problems, are a sign of a team gaining momentum.

"Team unity is as important as team skill, and the net result is the most harmonious team I've played on in terms of getting along, liking each other and working well together," said captain Heather Rypkema. "When you really like your team, you want to win for them more than for yourself."

It is this team unity that began to show in the Harvard Invitational and carried the Crimson to within a match of the Ivy League title and an NCAA bid.

With Rypkema as the only graduating senior, with the entire starting team returning and with solid recruits, the Crimson hope to build on the momentum they realized late in this season