“In our huddles and team meetings on the court we would say, ‘We’re better than this, let’s pick it up’,” Ogbechie said. “I don’t think anyone in the game doubted that we would win at any point, and that’s the kind of confidence that we need.”
HARVARD 3, DARTMOUTH 0
A week after struggling to dispose of a tough Dartmouth team in four games, Harvard immediately pushed the Big Green (3-9, 0-2) back on its heels, waltzing to a 3-0 (30-18, 30-20, 30-24) win in front of a raucous crowd on Friday night.
Freshman outside hitter Laura Mahon led Harvard with 16 kills and chipped in six digs on the night.
“Laura’s a very smart player,” Schweitzer said. “She sees the court and the block really well and doesn’t try to do too much with a bad set.”
Ogbechie and Schweitzer each posted double-doubles in kills and digs on the match.
The Crimson recorded nine aces, including four from co-captain Kim Gould.
Dartmouth stayed with Harvard early in the first game, pulling to within three at 10-7 after a block by Big Green front liners Frances Samolowicz and Sandy Barbut. The Crimson proceeded to take 15 of the next 19 points with Ogbechie accounting for six of those on four kills and two blocks.
“We were focused coming into the contest after [the loss] Tuesday night against Northeastern,” Weiss said. “We were passing well, seeing the block, and mixing it around…if we keep dispersing the ball like that, we’ll play very well in the [Ivy] League.”
The final two games were all Harvard, with the Crimson jumping out to 11-4 leads in each. In the second frame Dartmouth closed the gap to 16-11, but Harvard responded by taking eight of the next ten points. The Big Green managed to make the game competitive, pulling within six late, but aces by Schweitzer and Ogbechie helped the Crimson seal the deal.
Harvard built upon its 11-4 lead in the third game, extending it to 20-8 before Dartmouth began to chip away. The Big Green cut the Crimson lead to 25-20, forcing Harvard to call its only timeout of the match. The Crimson picked up three points directly out of the timeout on a Dartmouth attack error and a block and a kill by freshman middle blocker Suzie Trimble, en route to a 30-24 match-clinching win.
“It was a very clean, very well-executed match and our contact was right on,” Weiss said. “That was probably the best we played together, and we were very confident on every ball.”
—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.