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W. Volleyball Tries for NCAA Berth in Ivy Tournament

Ivy League championship? Check.

Huge win against Penn? Check.

An important match against Yale on Saturday? Big fat check.

Though this checklist almost certainly inspires thoughts of the 121st edition of The Game, there’s another team out there that will be battling the Bulldogs this weekend as well.

The Harvard women’s volleyball team will face Yale Saturday at 4 p.m. in Union’s Viniar Athletic Center in the first round of a single-elimination playoff. The winner of the playoff will determine the recipient of the Ivy League’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.

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“[An NCAA berth] means that we get to fight for a championship,” co-captain Kaego Ogbechie said. “No matter how far out of reach it may seem, it’s still a possibility.”

Thrilling weekend? Check.

NCAA tournament berth? To be determined.

THE SETUP

On Wednesday, Princeton swept the Quakers 3-0 and the Bulldogs outlasted a rally by Brown to escape 3-2. Their wins left them with 10-4 league records and in a four-way tie for first place with the Crimson and Cornell—who had clinched a share of the title last Saturday with sweeps of Penn and the Bears, respectively.

Although all four teams are recognized as Ivy champions—a feat never previously seen in 27 years of league play—there is only one automatic NCAA tournament berth available. As a result, a playoff between the co-champions will determine which team moves on to the national tournament.

Yale, the top seed, will be paired with the fourth-seeded Harvard squad while the second-seeded Tigers will face off against the No. 3 seed Big Red at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening.

The winners of those matches will then battle in the finals at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

THE OFFENSIVE BULLDOGS

Last time the Crimson played against the Bulldogs, it was defeated 3-0 in a shocking sweep in front of a rowdy J. Lee Amphitheater crowd—revenge for Harvard’s 3-0 October domination of Yale at the Malkin Athletic Center.

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