Dartmouth volleyball lost its fourth straight match after facing Harvard University on Friday evening, falling to 9-9 on the season and 2-6 in Ivy League play. After a 2-2 start to conference play, the Big Green has come up short in recent matches, losing 3-1 to Yale University last week.
Despite the loss, head coach Kevin Maureen Campbell said he was proud of the performance.
“I am very proud of the way they fought,” Campbell said. “They worked really hard.”
The first set opened with the Crimson squad holding a firm lead, which they retained until late in the set. The Big Green were able to tie it 22-22, but three straight kills by Harvard gave the Crimson the set 25-22.
Halfway through the set, Leede Arena started filling up with an influx of Big Green spectators.
“We got a lot of our friends and other sports teams to come,” right side hitter Maddie LaFata ’27 said. “We love having people here.”
Fueled by passionate fans and determination, the Big Green squad opened the second set in the lead with big kills from middle hitter Raeli Smith ’27 and outside hitter Piper Stevens ’25. But the Big Green dropped six straight points and lost momentum in the middle of the set as Harvard tied it up 14-14. Ultimately, the Crimson won the second set 25-22.
“[Dartmouth] is a team that is really competitive,” Campbell said. “Volleyball is a game that has a lot of errors and a lot of points really fast — and we just gave up too many errors early in the match. I think we got better as the match went on, but it was just not enough at the end.”
The Big Green, determined not to let up another set, stepped back onto the court for set three. After some back and forth, a 7-2 run including three kills from LaFata and two from Kauany Gutz ’26 put the Big Green ahead 16-14. Four consecutive Crimson errors and kills from Gutz and Ava Roberts ’26 pushed the Big Green squad to victory, ending the set at 25-19.
“Maddie [LaFata] had a really good two ball,” Smith said. “She got a kill and it was awesome. I literally blinked and [the ball] was down.”
The fourth and final set of the match was a back-and-forth battle that continued until Harvard took a late commanding 22-17 lead, owing to offensive errors by Dartmouth. The Crimson ended the set with a kill from outside hitter Brynne Faltinsky, resulting in a 25-19 final score.
Despite the overall loss, the Big Green is optimistic about the remainder of the season and determined to work for future victories, Campbell said. LaFata agreed, adding that she has “so much faith in this team.”
“I feel like we’re improving every weekend,” LaFata said. “I really feel like it’s only up from here.”
The Big Green look to bounce back on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. on the road versus Columbia University, which Dartmouth previously defeated 3-0 on Oct. 5.
“I am super excited,” Smith said. “I think that the whole team is really excited for that game — it’s going to be very competitive.”
The team will face Columbia University on Nov. 1 and Cornell University on Nov. 2, before closing out the season on Nov. 16 with a match against the University of Pennsylvania. Campbell said the team intends to focus on rest, recuperation and offensive play as the squad continues its Ivy League play.
“Mainly, we need to work on our offense,” Campbell added. “I think our defense is looking better and better all of the time. … I’m really excited to continue to play in the Ivy.”
