Volleyball rivals face off in first conference matchups

The Ivy League women’s volleyball teams continued their 2009 campaigns this weekend. Four teams—Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Harvard—began conference competition, while the remainder prepared further for their approaching Ivy openers. In a surprising twist, Columbia (9-4, 1-0 Ivy) defeated Cornell (3-9, 0-1 Ivy) for the first time since 2001 in the program’s first league win since 2006.

On Saturday, the Lions hosted the Columbia Tri-Match against Cornell and Hartford. The Light Blue emerged victorious with a close 3-1 win over Hartford and an impressive 3-0 sweep of Cornell. In the match against the Big Red, freshman Megan Gaughn led both sides of the court, posting a double-double with 20 kills and 12 digs, earning her the title of Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Fellow freshman Erin Longinotti had nine kills in the win, while senior Ellie Thomas posted 16 digs and junior Sarah Thompson tallied seven kills. Senior Megan Mushovic, who was selected for the Ivy League Weekly Report’s honor roll, and freshman Deveney Pula led the Big Red in the loss with a team-high 13 digs and 11 digs, respectively. Cornell and Columbia will face off in a rematch on Oct. 3.

Like Columbia, Dartmouth (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) achieved a sweep of an Ivy rival this weekend with a 3-0 win over Harvard (4-8, 0-1 Ivy). Dartmouth’s Madeline Baird led both teams with 16 kills, while senior Megan MacGregor led the Big Green with a double-double (11 digs and 12 kills). For the Crimson, sophomore Anne Carroll Ingersoll was selected for the Ivy League Weekly Report’s honor roll after tallying 11 kills and three blocks. Harvard and Dartmouth will meet again on Friday, Oct. 2, in Hanover.

Brown (4-7) split its weekend contests at the Bryant Invitational with a defeat over Howard University and a loss to Bryant University. Brown junior Brianna Williamson led the Bears with double-doubles in both matches with a total 27 kills and 22 digs, in addition to 6 service aces, earning her a spot alongside Cornell’s Mushovic on the Ivy League Weekly Report’s honor roll for the week of Oct. 29. Brown will compete in its Ivy League opener on Oct. 2 at Yale University at 7 p.m.

Yale (10-1), the 2008 Ivy League champions, swept Binghamton and defeated Quinnipiac on Saturday to take the Yale Classic. Senior outside hitter Alexis Crusey was named Ivy League Player of the Week with 11 kills and 11 digs, three assists, and an ace against Quinnipiac, and a match-high 13 kills against Binghamton.

Meanwhile, Princeton (2-9), the 2007 Ivy League champions, snapped a six-game losing streak at home with a victory against Division III Juniata College. The win was key for the Tigers, who needed to break their negative momentum as they aim to snatch the Ivy title back from the Bulldogs and pick up their 15th Ivy League title this year. Princeton senior Sheena Donohue earned a spot in the Ivy League Weekly Report’s honor roll after notching a double-double with 14 kills and 18 digs. Princeton takes on Penn in both teams’ Ivy openers on Saturday.

Penn (9-3) lost 0-3 to Santa Clara this past Friday evening. Freshman Lauren Martin had a team-high 12 kills, while junior Julia Swanson had seven kills, along with eight digs and a service ace. Martin was also selected for the Ivy League Weekly Report’s honor roll. The Quakers will face the Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 3.