The volleyball team concluded a bumpy season this week with an exciting sweep of Cornell, followed by disappointing losses to Columbia and Yale. The Bears finished the season 6-19 overall, with a 2-12 record in the Ivy League.
The Bears toppled Cornell, 3-0, on Friday night in one of their strongest performances of the season. They fought hard against Columbia the following day, almost pulling off an upset, but they fell short of victory, 3-2. Yale, one of the Ivy League's strongest contenders, stormed past Brown in a decisive 3-0 sweep.
"We had a fantastic and supportive team environment that kept us motivated and driven through it all," said co-captain Moira Gallagher '10. "And, as a senior, I would say that this year was a rebuilding year and I know the team will accomplish great things in the future."
Katrina Post '13 recorded a team-high 11 kills on Friday evening, sparking a .291 team attack percentage for the victory over the Big Red. Brown held the lead for the vast majority of the match, solidifying the sweep in three sets, with scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17. Brianna Williamson '11 recorded 10 kills and nine digs, while Annika Gliottone '12 had a match-high 24 assists and an additional 10 digs. Carly Cotton '13 had a match-high 19 digs to fortify the Bears' defense.
The Bears saw less success in their following matches, as they fell to both Columbia and Yale. Despite Brown's 14--7 lead over Columbia in the first set, the Lions fought back for a 25-22 victory and a 1-0 lead. Brown took control in the second for a 25-17 victory, tying the match at 1-1. The seesaw battle continued as Columbia captured the third set and Brown retaliated with a fourth set victory, 25-17. Forced into the final fifth set, the squads remained tied at 12 until the Lions pulled away for a devastating 16-14 victory over the Bears.
Liz Mueller '10 had one of her best performances of the season, posting 10 kills and nine digs. Post recorded 16 kills and seven digs, and Williamson added 14 kills and 13 digs to keep the Bears in the competition against Columbia.
Head Coach Diane Short said she was pleased with her team's hard-fought competition, even though it produced less-than-satisfying results.
"We had a really disappointing season from a win-loss standpoint, but we competed all year," Short said. "We may have underachieved this year, but we are certainly better than our record shows."
In its last match of the season on Tuesday night, Brown was dealt a hard blow from the visiting Bulldogs. Despite the efforts of Post, who again recorded double-digit scores, with 12 kills and 16 digs, and Cotton with a team-high 20 digs, the Bears were unable to keep up with Yale, falling in three sets.
"We can't think about our record, but really have to focus on the positive strides that the team made for upcoming years," said Kim Bundick '10.
The Bears will lose five seniors this spring, as they graduate Bundick, Ann Cowell '10, Gallagher, Mueller and Lindsay Walls '10.
"Even though we didn't have the most successful record, I loved being on a team with such a great group of girls," Cotton wrote in a text message to The Herald. "I am really going to miss our seniors."
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