Heading into one of the biggest weekends of Ivy League play, the women’s volleyball teams from Harvard and Dartmouth entered Friday tied for first in the standings, facing the exact same slate of games––away at Penn and away at Princeton. After four games and 1,350 miles of total travel for the top two teams in the league, it was the Crimson that emerged in sole possession of the top spot.

While Harvard (11-9, 7-3 Ivy) split its games, beating the Quakers (10-12, 4-6) on Friday and falling to the Tigers (11-8, 6-4) on Saturday, Dartmouth (9-10, 6-4) faltered against both opponents.

Princeton 3, Harvard 0

After dropping the first set, 25-22, Harvard came back at Princeton with its best shot. Playing in front of an energized crowd at Dillon Gym, however, the Tigers parried every Crimson attack and sent the second set through a total of 18 ties and 11 lead changes.

At 25-25, Harvard’s push to tie the game finally came short. Princeton’s setter Claire Nussbaum teed up her teammates for two straight kills, and after a grueling set in which the Crimson threatened to take control at various points, it suddenly found itself down 2-0 heading into the third set.

Coming back once again proved to be too difficult of a task for Harvard, which was also facing fatigue from having played the night before. The Tigers never trailed in the third set after a 3-3 tie, and their lead ballooned to 21-12 at one point. Despite the Crimson rallying to close the difference to 22-18, the visitors once again were not able to finish the run, as Princeton tallied three straight points to end the game.

The first set, which set the tone for the 3-0 Tigers victory, had been similar to the third. Princeton quickly pulled ahead, 4-1, and held 12-6 lead at one point. Harvard drew close and forced several ties late in the set but never broke through.

“They scouted us well and stepped up during the crucial points,” senior libero Sindhu Vegesena said. “We’re usually cohesive, but our connections were slightly off against them.”

Senior outside hitter Kathleen Wallace posted a strong performance for the Crimson in the losing effort, recording 32 total attack attempts and 11 kills. However, she and her teammates were not able to overcome the Tigers’ duo of outside-hitters, Cara Mattaliano and Kendall Peterkin, as the upperclassmen recorded 16 and 15 kills, respectively.

Harvard 3, Penn 0

Harvard started out the weekend on a higher note in a straight-set victory at Penn. In a commanding performance, the Crimson held the hosts to under 20 points in each set of the match, which saw only six lead changes.

Most of the drama in the Friday night matchup against the Quakers came in the first set, when the Crimson found itself trailing 11-7. Still tied with Dartmouth for the league lead going into the game, a loss to Penn, the team with the second-worst record in the Ancient Eight, would have dealt a serious blow to Harvard’s title hopes.

Led by six kills from five different players, however, the Crimson ripped off an 11-2 run. Two straight service aces by freshman middle-blocker Christina Cornelius punctuated the quick turnaround.

“Penn always has a ton of energy, especially in their home gym,” junior setter Corie Bain said. “Our comeback in the first game showed our will and grit to win.”

Other standout performers included senior libero Sindhu Vegesena, who posted a game-high 25 digs, and Wallace, who led the Crimson with 32 attack attempts and 11 kills.

Thanks to the win over Penn–and Dartmouth’s two losses–Harvard now finds itself atop of the Ancient Eight standings.

“We may still be ranked first, but that means absolutely nothing coming off a loss,” Vegesena said. “This is the most unpredictable year for Ivy League volleyball I’ve seen in my four years.”