Coming off a sub-.500 start in non-league play, the Harvard women's volleyball team opened its Ivy schedule in perfect fashion this weekend, beating both Cornell and Columbia in three straight games at the Malkin Athletic Center.

After topping the Big Red (5-6, 0-1 Ivy) 15-9, 15-5, 15-0 on Friday night, the Crimson (9-8, 2-0) followed through on Saturday afternoon with an equally impressive 15-5, 15-7, 15-9 win against the Lions.

"Our team really came together this weekend and was ready for the Ivy League competition to start," sophomore outside hitter Erin Denniston said. "We knew we were going to win all along."

Harvard 3, Columbia 0

The Crimson used its momentum from Friday night's shutout of Cornell to once again get off to a fast start in its match against the Lions (10-6, 0-2).

Although the match got progressively tougher, Harvard was able to hold on and finished off Columbia in three games.

Denniston played brilliantly, leading the Crimson with 15 kills and posting a .522 kill percentage, and junior outside hitter Angela Lutich added 14 kills of her own.

"We were feeling really good entering the matches this weekend," Lutich said. "We've had a bunch of tough games this season, and I think it's paying off now that we're playing the Ivy League schedule. It helped to play tougher teams early on."

Freshman setter Mindy Jellin had 25 set assists and junior Julie Yick added 18 to help run the offense.

Katie Beauregard paced the Lions with 15 kills, but was unable to get much support from the rest of her teammates throughout the game.

The win extended the Crimson's current unbeaten streak to three games and was the first time since its wins against St. Peter's and Portland September 12 that it earned back-to-back victories.

Harvard 3, Cornell 0

Led by the stellar play of Denniston, who again registered 15 kills, Harvard quickly took control of its Ivy opener against Cornell.

Jellin quarterbacked the team effectively once again, collecting 35 set assists.

Although the Big Red played tough in the first game, it was unable to match the Crimson's intensity and aggressiveness and was overwhelmed in the last two games, winning only five total points. Harvard blanked Cornell 15-0 in the third and final game of the match.

Junior Robin Moore's eight kills and sophomore Liz Condon's 14 defensive digs led Cornell.

"We played very close to our peak," Denniston added. "They got better from last year, but this win was a good way to start the season."

Jellin and senior Kristin Priscella led a strong defensive effort by the Crimson, with 16 and 13 digs, respectively.

Denniston and Lutich are currently among the Ivy League's best in kills. Entering Friday's match, Denniston was ranked third in the Ivy at 3.74 per game, closely trailing Cornell's Robin Moore. Lutich was seventh in the conference in kills at 3.17 per game, and also fourth in the Ivy in digs with an average of 3.90.

Harvard now has the next four days to rest before a tough road trip this weekend. The Crimson will visit Princeton on Friday night to take on a tough Tigers squad that boasts an 11-3 overall record. After finishing the match, the Crimson will once again hit the road and travel to Philadelphia for an early Saturday afternoon match against Penn (8-6).

"It's hard when we're on the road,"

Lutich said. "But we have to come in focused and forget about everything else except the current match."

One of the main goals for the Crimson this season has been improve its communication on the court. With many underclassmen playing a significant role on the team, this goal has taken on even greater importance.

"That's been one of our problems this season," Lutich said. "We need to improve on the way we communicate with each other on the floor."

Currently on top of the Ivy League standings after its clutch victories this past weekend, the Crimson hopes to get an even stronger grip on its lead with two crucial conference games on Friday and Saturday.