“Their fans didn’t really affect us directly, but it gave the Cornell girls a bit more energy and momentum to fight,” Wu said. “We didn’t respond as well.”

COLUMBIA 3, HARVARD 0

Friday’s match was closer than the 3-0 score indicated.

After narrowing a 20-9 first-set lead in Columbia’s favor, the Crimson fell short, losing by a score of 25–19.

In the second set, Harvard and the Lions battled all the way through with six lead changes and 13 ties.

Despite leading by three early, the Crimson was unable to break through, losing the second set, 25-22, on an attack error by Casey.

Second-place Columbia went on to win the third set, 25-20, and take the match.

“We made a lot of errors at the wrong time and allowed Columbia to get large leads on us that were difficult to come back from despite hard efforts from our hitters, including Kristen Casey and Teresa Skelly,” Kinsella said.

With the losses, Harvard will split the season set with Columbia and account for two of Cornell’s three wins in the Ivy League.

Despite the loss, Harvard and its seniors—who just completed the last road trip of their career—recognized the value of the season, and mostly, that it’s not over.

“Despite the outcome, I’m so proud to be a member of the Harvard volleyball team,” co-captain Sandra Lynne Fryhofer said. “Any other year, I would have been upset by the outcome. But with a senior perspective, I know that in the end, I won’t remember the specific wins or losses.”

The Crimson closes its season with two home matches next weekend against Yale and Brown.