Women’s Volleyball Team Ends Tournament Play in a Shaky Way at Delaware State Tournament

The Harvard women’s volleyball team (5-4, 0-0 Ivy) capped off an up-and-down non-conference schedule with a 1-2 performance in the Delaware State Tournament, losing to host Delaware State (4-9, 0-0 MEAC), beating New Jersey Institute of Technology (4-12, 0-0 America East) and losing its final match of the weekend to George Washington (10-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10).

Harvard 2, Delaware State 3

The Crimson’s weekend got off to a rocky start even before the weekend’s first flight, as poor weather conditions delayed Harvard’s flight plans. After being stranded at the airport for hours, the Crimson finally began its journey to The First State around midnight Thursday night.

The plane’s late takeoff was perhaps emblematic of Harvard’s play this season, as the Crimson got off to another slow start against Delaware State. A jet-lagged Harvard team allowed a five-all series that gave the Hornets a 10-4 lead early in the first set.

Delaware State’s self-inflicted wounds kept the Crimson afloat, with Harvard’s first four points of the game coming off Hornets errors. But the Crimson’s slow play continued in the first half, and Delaware State extended its lead to eight by the middle of the set.

Just as the Crimson’s flight was delayed and eventually arrived, so was Harvard’s offense. The Crimson came back with a series of their own, scoring six straight points to cut the deficit to two. Both teams traded points for the rest of the set, with the Hornets settling for 24-23. With their backs to the wall, Harvard fought back with resilience, scoring three straight points to steal the first set. The story of this set was mistakes, as eight simple missteps by Delaware State gave the Crimson life when all seemed hopeless.

The second set began as a tight, back-and-forth battle but ended as a running race. Neither team led by more than two points in the first half of the set, with Harvard holding a slim 13-12 lead. The Crimson then scored their first point of the set, taking a 19-12 lead.

But the Hornets got their revenge, winning ten of the next 13 points. With the set tied at 22-22, Harvard ended the series with a kill by senior outside hitter Corinne Furey. Like in the first set, Delaware State reached set point and the Crimson responded immediately, scoring four of the next five points to take another tight set and come within one set of the win.

Furey’s big hit was an extra special moment for him, as he is a native of Wilmington, Del. “It was pretty sweet to play in my hometown for our last preseason tournament,” the senior said.

The third set was as tight as volleyball could get. Neither team scored more than three points at any point or scored more than two points in a row. The only breakup came when the Hornets took a three-point lead in the middle of the set, winning four of five points.

In the end, the errors were too much for Harvard to overcome, with Crimson errors giving Delaware State five of its final seven points en route to a 25-23 set victory. Harvard’s eight errors in the set made the difference not only in the set, but in the match as a whole.

The Hornets rode the momentum from the third set, taking a 10-2 lead early in the fourth. The Crimson’s error bonanza continued between sets, with the team scoring eight more points in the fourth. That set was never in doubt, as Delaware State cruised to a 25-15 set victory and sent the game into a decisive fifth set.

Harvard is no stranger to high-pressure volleyball, as it was the fourth of the team’s first seven games that they went the distance. The Crimson embodied the old adage that close games are a 50-50 gamble, with Harvard losing the final set this season and being 2-2 in fifth sets.

Fittingly, the fifth set was tight from start to finish. Similar to the third set, neither team scored more than two points in a row or led by more than two points. As a result, the Hornets reached the 15th seed in the neck-and-neck set.

Unlike the previous two sets, mistakes weren’t the problem for the Crimson this time. Instead, the team couldn’t contain Delaware State’s offense at key moments. The Hornets scored 11 of the team’s 15 points on kills, a high-risk, high-reward style of play.

The final scoreline showed that Delaware State’s offense was too strong for Harvard. The Hornets held a 60-43 advantage in kills, 56-42 in assists and a 9-4 advantage in service aces, which has plagued the Crimson all year. Harvard also had impressive block numbers, with sophomore middle blocker Ryleigh Patterson adding seven and freshman middle blocker Bennett Trubey adding five. Junior outside hitter Brynne Faltinsky also had an impressive day, leading the team with 13 kills and four blocks.

Harvard 3, New Jersey Institute of Technology 0

After 24 hours filled with flight uncertainty and heartbreak, the Crimson got back on track in a big way against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (NJIT). Harvard appeared immortal in a 3-0 sweep that was as dominant as the score indicated.

With a change of character, the Crimson came out of the gates hot as the team took an early 10-5 lead. Harvard began to fade midway through the set when a 6-1 run by the Highlanders tied the score at 12-12. NJIT’s time as a viable contender was short-lived as the Crimson dominated the rest of the set, taking a 25-17 set win.

The second set mimicked the first, and Highlands remained competitive for a while before Harvard proved to be in a different class. NJIT took an early lead in the set due to the Crimson’s sloppy play. Harvard’s mistakes gave the Highlanders three of the team’s first six points. NJIT could only hold on to the lead for a few points, with the Crimson tying the game at 10-10 and then giving Harvard a 13-10 lead. The Crimson stayed hot until the Highlanders gained momentum, when the lead grew to five. Harvard once again overwhelmed NJIT, winning the second set 25-18.

The third set was a Crimson game of “whatever you can do, I can do it better.” The Highlanders went on a 5-0 run, then Harvard. NJIT went on a 3-0 run? The Crimson replied, “How about 5-0?” The Highlanders snapped that 5-0 run? How about finishing the match on an 8-1 run? Only one team can win a series of games, and Harvard was certainly that team in the third set. The 25-15 set win was the most one-sided of the match.

The Crimson dominated nearly every statistic on the post-match stat sheet. Harvard more than doubled NJIT’s kills, with the Crimson tallying 44 points to the Highlanders’ 20. In a rare turn of events, Harvard tallied more service aces than any other team in the match, with six. After a scattered first game, the Crimson came out sharper, averaging four errors per set, compared to five in the first game.

Furey and Faltinsky once again took their typical places as Harvard’s kill leaders. Furey had 13 kills to tie for the match lead, edging out Faltinsky’s 12. Another familiar face led the Crimson in assists once again, as senior setter Rocky Aguirre tallied 33 of Harvard’s 40 assists in the game. Aguirre also led the team with four service aces. Patterson also recorded another strong showing with eight kills and two blocks.

The main goal of preseason tournaments is to grow as a team, and the Crimson showed that growth in this dominant win. Harvard is well aware of the role these tournaments play, according to Furey.

“These tournaments give us the opportunity to try new things and build momentum for conference play,” Furey added. “The Ivy games are where we bring together all the lessons we learned from our preseason tournaments and compete for the championship.”

Harvard 0, George Washington 3

Coming off a run of victories over NJIT, the Crimson hoped to continue the momentum in their second match of the day against the George Washington University Revolutionaries (GW). History was not on Harvard’s side as George Washington is known for its historically good performances when passing Delaware.

GW entered the match against the Crimson without losing a set in the entire tournament. While that streak did not change against Harvard, the Crimson put up a strong fight. Harvard used the first set to show its mettle, with the Crimson trading blows with the Revolutionaries throughout the set. Harvard’s slight lead early on gave way to GW’s slight lead for most of the set. The Revolutionaries eventually took a four-point lead and held off the Crimson for the remainder of the set with a 25-21 first-set victory.

Harvard struggled with multiple hitters on offense, and the two teams traded points in the second set. GW also kept their fair share of kills as the Revolutionaries kept the pace throughout the set. Harvard seemed comfortable trading points with GW, with the Revolutionaries pulling off a surprising 5-0 run to take control of the set. However, the Crimson quickly rallied their forces and responded with a 4-1 run to counterattack. The exchange ended in a tie as both sides returned to trading points. Harvard took a 23-22 lead late in the set, putting GW on the brink of their first set drop of the tournament. However, the Revolutionaries managed to recover from the brink of defeat and won another set with a 25-23 victory.

GW, in danger of losing the first set of the tournament, gave up no such luck in the third set. The Revolutionaries took an early lead and never surrendered. With the set tied at 5-5, GW won 10 of the next 14 points to pull away from the Crimson. Harvard failed to effectively slow GW’s wave of momentum, and the Revolutionaries’ lead grew to as many as 10. In the end, it was GW’s 25-16 set victory that sealed the match.

Post-match statistics reflected that it was a closer match than the final score would indicate. The Crimson trailed the Revolutionaries in nearly every statistic, but the margins were small. Faltinsky and Furey recorded double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Patterson narrowly missed joining the club by finishing with 9.

The end of this match also marked the end of the tournament season, a moment that was both sweet and bitter for experienced players like Furey.

“There’s a bit of nostalgia for the finish, but I also feel a resounding excitement and focus for the road ahead,” Furey said.

Harvard returns to action with a home conference opener against Dartmouth on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. The game marks the beginning of a three-game home series for the Crimson to begin conference play. While the non-conference season has been bumpy, Furey says Harvard is ready for the challenges ahead as they enter Ivy League action for the last time.

“Being a senior has made me especially appreciative of the little things,” Furey said. “The team dinners, the tough practices, the opportunity to put on this jersey and represent our university. But what I feel the most is the hunger and desire for our team to attack conference play and get back to the Ivy Tournament.”
—Staff writer Reed Trimble can be reached at: [email protected].