Harvard Women’s Volleyball Dominates in Opening Weekend Sweep

Efficient offense, aggressive serves, suffocating defense, and an exciting freshman class combined for a dominant weekend for Harvard women’s volleyball (3-0) as the team faced a trio of regional foes.

“We have five amazing freshmen and seeing them have a breakout weekend was definitely a highlight for our team,” said senior outside Ali Farquhar.

Harvard 3, Fairfield 0

Fairfield (3-3) made the short trip up the interstate on Friday to face the Crimson, but the Stags quickly found themselves in for a long night in Cambridge.

Eager to start the season on the right foot, Harvard came out with a fury in the opening set. A 12-1 avalanche to start the game was spurred by the strong service of sophomore outside Sofia Rossi and multiple kills by her left-handed counterpart, Farquhar. Farquhar’s fellow seniors, libero Yvette Easton and captain Ryleigh Patterson, set the tone defensively.

“I think it was great for our momentum,” said Farquhar about the early rally. “The rally helped solidify our control over the pace of the game and the weekend as a whole.”

The road team recovered, but never truly made it competitive, as the Crimson claimed a 25-17 first set.

The second set proved far more intense, but was once again characterized by a big run by the home team. With the New England foes knotted at 9-9, a Patterson kill sent Rossi back to the service line. Rossi once again proved deadly to the Stags, securing three aces and a kill in a four-point span before another Patterson kill finished a 6-0 run for Harvard.

This time, however, Fairfield mounted a successful counterattack. Senior right-side Mamie Krubally rained terror on the Crimson as the Stags brought the score to 16-16.

Ultimately, Harvard’s depth proved to be the difference. Critical in pulling out the 26-24 set win was freshman setter Catlin Shao. Shao recorded two aces in the late stages of the set, including the clinching final point.

Set three also proved competitive, but as it had all night, the Crimson stayed a step ahead of its opponent. Four aces by four different players helped Harvard push the set to a 22-22 tie. The team’s veteran leadership stepped up from there, with Farquhar and Patterson sandwiching kills around a Stag error to claim the set, match, and first win of its 2026 campaign.

Harvard 3, Holy Cross 1

Harvard pulled through for its second match on Saturday, winning three straight sets to defeat Holy Cross (2-5) 3-1 after dropping the first set.

The first set began with two kills from Rossi and Farquhar, setting up a point-swapping set that led to five ties early on. Despite the best efforts of Patterson, who hit an overall match-high of .562, the Crimson lost its 10-9 lead halfway through the set and got left behind when the Crusaders scored five consecutive points, resulting in a 25-18 Harvard loss.

The second set started out stronger for the host team, with the Crimson boasting a consistent four-point lead until Holy Cross came back at 16-15. Harvard evened the score at 17-17 before middle blocker Bennett Trubey, a Crimson Sports Staff Writer, put Harvard back on top at 20-19 — leaving room for the Crimson to steal the second set 25-22 after a series of close saves.

Harvard was cited for an early foul in the first set, putting it slightly behind, until it rapidly pulled ahead – taking a six-point lead over the Crusaders, 16-10, that it held even as the visitors began closing in with an ace from sophomore setter Sophia Wei.

The Crimson secured the 25-20 set victory with kills from freshman opposite hitter Masina Ogbechie, alongside Rossi and Farquhar. Ogbechie is the niece of Kaego Ogbechie Rust ’05, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, All-American Honorable Mention, and member of the Harvard Varsity Club’s Hall of Fame.

Harvard finished the match with a crushing victory in the fourth set – taking a 12-point lead at 22-10, after several kills from Farquhar, who made up an aggressive front line with Patterson. The two seniors made 12 and 10 kills respectively, with Farquhar taking home the most match kills. Freshman libero Jordan Shelor and Rossi both served two aces during the match, contributing to the Crimson’s seven service aces total.

Harvard 3, Northeastern 2

Tensions were high on Sunday afternoon as Harvard scraped out the victory in Northeastern’s Cabot Center, winning its final five-set match of the opening weekend 3-2 in front of an energetic crowd.

The Crimson took the lead in the first set with an ace from sophomore outside hitter Bridget Egan, and Harvard maintained roughly a three-point lead throughout. A strong comeback attempt by the home team brought the score to 21-19 and prompted the Crimson to take a time out. However, a raucous home crowd led by the taunting sounds of the Northeastern pep band made hearing in the huddle difficult.

Harvard did not let the fans impact its play while it fended off the Huskies, ending the set 25-23.

Patterson, freshman outside Kayla Nwabueze, and Farquhar made up a strong front line heading into the second set, with the Crimson pulling ahead with a steady four-point lead and another ace from Shelor and Shao.

But even as the Crimson led 11-4, the Huskies quickly caught up after their first timeout, narrowing the gap to 13-12. After a technical break, Harvard lagged behind the four-point lead established by Northeastern, which took the set 25-21.

The third set remained neck and neck until the very end, with six ties before resulting in a loss for Harvard, 30-28, as the Huskies landed three consecutive kills to end it.

Despite strong blocks from the front and a smaller but supportive Harvard crowd, the visiting team couldn’t hold onto its 24-23 lead, instead volleying with Northeastern until it fell behind by another set.

As the pressure rose and Harvard faced its first potential loss of the season, Rossi, Ogbechie, and Nwabueze delivered by opening a four-point lead in the fourth set. The Huskies nearly came back at the tail end – deadlocking the score at 24-24.

This time, it was the Crimson’s turn to come out on top, as Farquhar and Nwabueze put Harvard two points ahead of Northeastern, 26-24.

Although the match had several technical timeouts and a number of long volleys, the Crimson regained its momentum after a tough two sets. Nwabueze secured the 12th and final kill – giving her Harvard’s second-highest kill count for the match following Rossi’s 16. Shelor served her fourth ace of the match – and seventh of the week – securing the short win 15-10.

The hot start puts the Crimson in a good position to improve on a shaky 2025 season. Farquhar emphasized a return to “Harvard Volleyball Style” as a focus during both the offseason and preseason.

“Pressure from the service line, overcommunication, and a fast offense,” Farquhar said, were the focus for the team. “I think that was on full display.”

Harvard will look to continue to play that style of volleyball this upcoming weekend as the team travels to Wilmington, N.C., for the UNCW Hampton Inn University Invitational. The team will play two games on Friday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. EDT and 4:30 p.m., before playing the host team on Saturday at 1 p.m.

—Sports Chair of the Harvard Crimson Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble1

—Staff writer Alexa M. Schmitt can be reached at [email protected] or Signal at alexaschmitt.15. Follow her on X ​​@alexa_m15_s.