Some people were smart enough yesterday to get away from the Cambridge puddles. The Harvard women's volleyball team, for instance, travelled across the state to Williamstown, where they lost to their host, Williams, but beat Yale in a tough three-game match.

Amazon City

Against the big and strong Williams women, the Crimson played two close games but lost both, 15-12 and 15-10. The spikers served well, but they had trouble overcoming the size difference, especially in the long rallies.

Coach Karyn Altman could only shake her head. "They must grow 'em big out west," she sighed.

The script stayed the same in the first game against Yale, which the Elis won, 15-9. Then the Harvard women seemed to gain confidence, starting to mix hard and soft shots more, while continuing to serve well. The final two games ended in two quick wins, this time for the Crimson, 15-10 and 15-8.

The victories gained the Crimson match and raised their season record to 10 and 5.

Fast-paced

Both matches were fast-paced, filled with turnovers and long rallies. "We play much better with a fast game, and both teams play really fast. It was good for us," Altman said.

Serving was the high point of the Crimson's afternoon. "We're serving aces--if they're not just hitting the floor, they're winging off people's arms," Altman said after the game, adding, "And that's what you need against the good teams to stop their offenses."

Better and Better

Of the team members who took the trip to Williams--nine out of 14--many gave their best performances of the season. Outside shooters Coco Trumbull and Marlene Schoofs hit some excellent roll shots. "They're hitting the ball hard, and that's been a long time coming," Altman said, calling the team's group performance its strongest so far.

The back row help up its end as well. Altman singled out Kathie Yanelli for her serving and her defense, noting, "It's very nice to have so dependable a player come into the back line."

The spikers hope to continue their recent mastery of Ivy rivals when they host the Ivy tournament this weekend. With an early-season victory over Dartmouth, an upset last week of Brown, and now the win over Yale, Harvard is seeded fourth behind Princeton, Penn and Cornell.