The volleyball team was unstoppable this past weekend, defeating Dartmouth 3-2 on Friday and Harvard 3-1 on Saturday in a pair of Ivy League matches. The weekend sweep brings Brown's record to 6-10 overall and puts the team in a third-place tie in the Ivy League with a 3-2 mark.
Friday night, the Bears and the Big Green took turns dominating the court. Dartmouth won a close first game 30-28 for the early lead, but Brown rallied back in games two and three with scores of 30-27 and 30-24. The fourth game went back to Dartmouth, which narrowly forced a fifth game with a 30-28 victory.
The Bears were determined to finish on top in game five. Tri-captain Shawn Tulac '07 led the offensive charge with four consecutive kills, and the team earned a 15-13 victory.
"We had to stay focused," tri-captain Lauren Gibbs '06 said. "We played well."
Tri-captain Leigh Martin '06 continued her solid play for Brown, recording her second consecutive double-double of the season. Martin notched a match-high 61 assists and 13 digs in the night.
Tulac and Rikki Baldwin '07 finished the win with 21 total kills each, while Gibbs and Julie Mandolini-Trummel '08 each finished with 14 kills. At the net, Gibbs and Jessica Kondrick '07 posted seven blocks each, and Mandolini-Trummel was not far behind with five blocks to her name. Katie Lapinski '08 covered the floor with an impressive 35 digs, while Victoria Kasten '07 recorded 16.
After the previous night's triumph, the Bears were eager to face Harvard the next afternoon. "I think everyone came in with a lot of optimism," said Head Coach Diane Short. "Winning gives us confidence."
The team's confidence showed, as it played even better against Harvard than it had against Dartmouth. "In order to win an Ivy League match, you need to show up ready to play," Tulac said. "After Friday night, we had to pick up our game."
In their second match of the weekend, the Bears were forced again to recover after dropping the first game, which the Crimson picked up 30-28. In game two, Brown took an easy 30-18 win, but in game three, Harvard put up a better fight.
The Bears were leading 28-23 when the Crimson grabbed four consecutive points to cut the lead to one. A kill by Kondrick then put the Bears at game point, but the Crimson won the next three rallies for their own game point at 30-29. Martin tied the game at 30-30 with a kill, but Harvard won the next point for a 31-30 advantage. The Bears were able to tie the game again at 31-31 and then rallied off two straight points - a kill by Baldwin and a block by Mandolini-Trummel - to take the game with a final score of 33-31.
"We had a couple of good plays, and that helped us. We needed determination and confidence to win," Tulac said.
According to Short, the game was a good learning experience for the team. "We had to learn to quickly get over our mistakes," she said. "We had to stay aggressive."
The fourth game was another close contest between the two teams, but with Brown leading 25-24 the Bears took four points in a row to bring up match point. Harvard retaliated, winning the next two points to bring the score to 29-26, but on the next point Martin set Gibbs to the right, and the kill from Gibbs gave Brown the match-winning game, 30-26.
"We were excited," Gibbs said. "We didn't want to lose at home."
By posting a match-high total of 65 assists and 13 digs, Martin completed her third consecutive double-double.
Mandolini-Trummel also had an impressive night, leading the team with 17 kills, while Gibbs, Tulac and Baldwin posted 14 kills each. Defensively, the Bears were led by Lapinski, who recorded a team-high 19 digs, while Lizzie Laundy '08 finished with 13.
Now back in the hunt for the Ivy title, the Bears will hit the road this weekend, facing Princeton (10-5, 2-3 Ivy) on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania (6-9, 3-2 Ivy) on Saturday.
"The Princeton gym is an interesting dynamic," Tulac said. "They have a loud, not very nice crowd, so we have to make sure the fans don't get to us."
In addition to maintaining a high level of concentration, the team has a couple of improvements it would like to make before this weekend's matches. "We need to improve our transition a little," Short said. "And we need to serve tough."
But the Bears think their chances against the Tigers and Quakers are good. "Anything can happen," Gibbs said. "They can be tough teams, so we just have to see who brings the better game."
