Women's Volleyball Dominates in Offseason Play

It may not be in-season for the Crimson’s women’s volleyball team, but that certainly has not kept it away from competition.

Last weekend, Harvard took part in a four-team tournament hosted by Boston College, in which the Crimson faced the Boston-based Eagles, Bryant, and the University of Connecticut. Harvard emerged from the weekend without dropping a match—drawing with Boston College, and beating the Bulldogs and the Huskies outright.

Last fall, Harvard fell to the Eagles, 3-0, and went on to finish with a 9-17 overall record. Although last weekend’s tournament had no bearing on the Crimson’s record, the draw against Boston College shows early potential for a strong 2011-12 campaign.

In addition to its tournaments, the team has been combining a mixture of weight training and practices three times a week to gain momentum for its upcoming season.

“All of our hard work in the offseason at practice and lifts has paid off at our first…tournament,” junior Christine Wu said. “It demonstrated what our team is capable of, especially when we are hungry for new competition and challenges.”

Graduating only two seniors and welcoming a solid incoming freshman class, Harvard has the opportunity to use its offseason tournaments to build and improve upon its showing last year.

“With our small group of 10 [players] this spring, we have already proven to be a force on the court,” Wu said. “Carrying [that] over into the fall with the addition of five great recruits, our…team will be looked at as one of the teams to beat in the [Ivy] league next year.”

Next weekend, the Crimson will face Holy Cross, Providence College, and Springfield in its second preliminary tournament.