The Crimson entered the weekend 5-0 in five-set matches on the season. Two matches and two days later, the squad pushed that record to 7-0.

Despite late game drama, the Harvard women’s volleyball team’s nine-game winning streak is alive. By besting hosts Princeton and Penn, both by scores of 3-2, the Crimson (17-4, 10-2 Ivy) kept pace with first-place Yale in Ancient Eight competition. With the victories survives the hope of bringing home the team’s first Ivy League title since 2004.  

“We keep winning these close matches because we understand what an amazing opportunity we have at hand,” junior Caroline Holte said. “We let the opportunity to win the Ivy title fuel us. Every single person on this team gives 100 percent of themselves physically and emotionally to each point.”

HARVARD 3, PENN 2

If defense wins championships, then Harvard’s final two points against the host Quakers (8-15, 5-7) made a loud statement across the Ivy League. Thanks to a pair of blocks from middle blocker Caroline Walters and outside hitter Jennifer Shults, the Crimson clinched a five-set victory at the Palestra.

But such drama was only necessary because of a Penn surge that erased a 2-0 Harvard lead. At the end of the fourth set, it was the Quaker defense that pushed the match to a fifth game by forcing consecutive attacking errors.

Walters headlined the Crimson attack with 15 kills in addition to two solo blocks and five block assists. Junior Kathleen Wallace, along with sophomores Grace Weghorst and Corie Bain, also contributed more than 10 kills.

“Offensively, our system is always to hit aggressively until they start to dig us,” Holte said. “If they begin to hit us…we can make adjustments and place shots around their defense. We definitely achieved these offensive goals.”

The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout the contest. Harvard and Penn recorded the same number of kills, 66, and the same number of errors, 27. The largest margin of the match was four points, and the Crimson only reached this gap with the last point of play. 

“The fifth set is much quicker compared to others, so you really cannot waste any time or any points,” Wallace said. “That sort of quickness and decisiveness of the set is what lights a fire in our team.”

HARVARD 3, PRINCETON 2

In Princeton, N.J., the Crimson survived a late push from the Tigers (13-9, 8-4) thanks to Wallace’s 15 kills and Bain’s ninth triple-double on the season.

The match seesawed back and forth, with Harvard winning the odd sets and Princeton winning the even. But this formula ultimately led to victory as the Crimson took the fifth set with a fitting final kill from Wallace.

“As with any team sport, one player alone cannot accomplish success without others,” Wallace said. “Our setters Corie Bain and Hannah Schmidt worked really hard to give me and the other hitters great sets, and those sets gave me so many options for where to score points.”

After going up, 2-1, Harvard had an opportunity to take the match without advancing to a climatic set. But a combination of two kills from the Tigers and two offensive errors from Bain let Princeton force a fifth game.

“We regroup by talking through what we need to adjust,” Holte said. “Physically, we discuss what offensive players we need to shut down…. Mentally, we remind each other to remain confident and calm and lean on each other.”

The first set was the most closely contested of the match. After the Tigers shot to an early lead, the Crimson clawed back to gain control and ultimately tied the game at 19. For the next eight points, the teams traded scores, but aided by a pair of kills from Wallace, the visitors took the set.

With two games remaining, Harvard is locked in a dead tie with Yale, whom the Crimson has beaten twice. But the Bulldogs have yet to play Princeton, the third-place team in the Ancient Eight.

“The prospect of the title has really given our team the motivation to fight through those tough matches,” Wallace said. “That’s especially true given this past weekend.”