Harvard Women’s Volleyball Stays Perfect in Ivy League Opener

For the first time in nearly three weeks, the Harvard women’s volleyball team appeared mortal on Saturday, but only for a moment. After extending its streak to 16 consecutive sets won, Dartmouth took the third and fourth sets, the first time the Crimson has lost consecutive sets since Sept. 6 against Northeastern. In an unfamiliar vulnerable position, Harvard responded with a resounding fifth-set victory to seal a 3-2 win over the Big Green.

The Crimson’s (10-0, 1-0 Ivy League) win marks its seventh straight over Dartmouth (6-5, 0-1), and continues the program’s historic start to the season.

Playing its third straight contest in the friendly confines of the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC), Harvard got off to a sluggish start. The host has dominated at the service line all year, but three early service errors helped the Big Green open an early 8-4 lead.

Things went from bad to worse for the Crimson after that as the error bug extended to all of its attacks, extending Dartmouth’s advantage to 15-6.

Senior outside Ali Farquhar helped turn the tide, ending Harvard’s string of five straight attacking errors with a kill, and following it up with a combined block with captain Ryleigh Patterson.

The Crimson slowly ate at the lead before its 7-1 run knotted the score at 20-20. The Big Green earned the first opportunity at set point, but a service error tied the game back up at 24. Once again Dartmouth had a chance to win at 25-24, and once again the visitor couldn’t put its serve in play.

Now, the home side went on the attack as Harvard earned four straight chances at set point. The Big Green held strong on the first three, but the Crimson’s resilience won out as a Dartmouth attacking error gave Harvard a marathon 30-28 first-set victory.

Harvard punched first in the second set with three Farquhar kills, along with kills from sophomore outside Sophia Rossi, freshman Kayla Nwabueze, and junior captain Riley Resmer, to build a 6-3 lead.

Stronger attacking and a return of the Crimson’s error affliction helped the visitors spark an 8-1 run to take the lead. When in doubt, Harvard once again turned to Farquhar, who turned in her strongest performance of the season. The senior from Santa Rosa, Calif., tallied three more kills en route to her side reclaiming a lead it did not relinquish. A service ace by sophomore setter Sophia Wei, who led the team with 27 assists, clinched the set, 25-21.

With the Crimson on the verge of a fifth straight sweep-victory, the Big Green refused to lie down and accept defeat. Instead, the visitors got revenge for Harvard’s epic first-set win, getting their own win-by-two victory.

Dartmouth opened an 11-7 lead early in the set behind its strong blockers. Patterson then stepped up with two kills and a block in a four-point span to get her team back in the set.

Turning the tide from the start of the set, it was the Crimson that controlled the net throughout the midgame. Resmer, Patterson and Nwabueze each combined for multiple blocks to create a 22-19 advantage.

However, the Big Green got the last laugh, turning the hosts’ playbook back on them. Strong serves helped the visitors gain two aces and an attacking advantage as it ultimately claimed the set, 27-25.

Maintaining its momentum from the previous set, Dartmouth coasted to a fourth-set victory as well. Harvard struggled to find consistent offense throughout the set. The Crimson crew showed flickers of offensive life behind the strong serve of Rossi, the NCAA leader in aces per set, but those sparks were quickly snuffed out. The Big Green eventually earned a decisive 25-16 victory and forced a winner-take-all final set.

All signs pointed to Dartmouth having the momentum heading into the fifth set. Harvard quickly dispelled those notions.

Nwabueze got the party started for the Crimson, landing a kill on the first point of the set. The Crimson then jumped out to a 3-1 lead. The third point allowed the host to reclaim serve and sub in freshman libero and service specialist Jordan Shelor. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native has been great at the line all year for Harvard, and Saturday was no exception. Although she didn’t find an ace, Shelor’s serve helped her team stay one step ahead of the Big Green and powered a 6-0 run.

Only needing six more points to win the match, Farquhar got her team to double digits with her 17th kill of the evening. Rossi soon added her 12th kill, good for second-best on the team, and the freshman outside duo of Nwabueze and Masina Ogbechie added three kills to bring the team to the brink of victory.

Farquhar then ended the match with one last kill off the assist by Wei, who finished first in assists, second in digs, and second in aces for the team.

Next up for Harvard are Yale (7-2, 1-0) and Brown (2-7, 0-1), who played each other in the first weekend of Ivy League play. The Bulldogs finished second to Princeton last season in the regular season, and lost a five-set thriller to the Tigers in the Ivy League Tournament Championship. The Crimson has lost its last 11 sets to Yale and hasn’t defeated its archrival since 2021.

Harvard won the last matchup against the Bears, as each team won its home game in last season’s series via a sweep. Brown clinched the fourth and final spot in the Ivy League Tournament last season, finishing two games ahead of the Crimson.

The matchups offer Harvard a chance for key victories early in its conference slate as the team looks to return to the Ivy League Tournament after missing out the last two seasons. A statement win at Yale would legitimize the team’s dreams of an Ancient Eight title. The contest will take place Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. EDT at Yale.

Regardless of the outcome of the volleyball edition of The Game, the Crimson will have a quick turnaround for a Saturday evening clash with the Bears. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

—Sports Chair of the Harvard Crimson, Reed M. Trimble, can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble.