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Harvard women’s volleyball (6-14, 5-7 Ivy) split its final homestand of the season, falling to Yale but defeating Brown in front of alumni and family at the Crimson’s alumni and senior weekend.
The Crimson played both nights for crowds of more than 100 fans who flocked to celebrate the team’s graduating athletes — outside hitters Brynne Faltinsky and Peyton Hollis and libero Hannah Ngyuen.
“The atmosphere was electric,” said freshman setter Sophia Wei. “We definitely felt their energy during the match.”
While Harvard struggled in the Friday matchup with rival Yale (12-8, 8-4), the team showed a different side on Saturday and dominated Brown (13-8, 8-4), whom they lost to earlier this season in Providence. Saturday’s victory marked the last game for the Harvard seniors at the Malkin Athletic Center and sent them out with the Crimson’s best win of the season.
Harvard 0 Yale 3
Yale claimed the lead early after two Harvard errors. Senior outside Brynne Faltinsky started the scoring for the Crimson and landed two quick kills.
The Bulldogs stayed on attack throughout the set, powered by freshman outside Ava Poinsett. Poinsett tormented Harvard all match.
Poinsett and Faltinsky battled all set, but Yale grew the lead. Both teams played clean volleyball and avoided errors. The Bulldogs proved worthy of their higher conference ranking and outplayed a Crimson team still missing sophomore setter Nicole Cornell. Yale claimed the first set 25-15.
Harvard also missed star freshman outside Sophia Rossi. Rossi developed an injury during the week and was unavailable for the Crimson.
Stalwart sophomore middle blocker Taylor Larkin started the scoring in the second set. Larkin is typically Harvard’s defensive ace but also contributes a respectable attacking threat in the middle.
Faltinsky continued her strong play as the Crimson kept pace early in the set. Senior outside Peyton Hollis knotted the score at 12 with a kill. From there, the Bulldogs took advantage of four consecutive Harvard errors to extend the lead.
Just when the set seemed to be slipping away, Faltinsky stepped up. Known for her powerful swings, Faltinsky mixed in finesse today and scored with a variety of swings. Down 20-15, Faltinsky scored three kills only interrupted by a service ace from freshman outside Bridget Egan.
Now only trailing by one, the Crimson had hope. But that hope was dashed when Yale scored the next four points before taking the set 25-21.
The Bulldogs jumped out to the lead early in the third set through efficient offense. Faltinsky landed a kill and used her strong service to tie the set at 5-5.
Yale separated from the tie to open a five point lead. Harvard clawed the lead down to three multiple times, but the Crimson was unable to get any closer. The Bulldogs powerful offense proved too much and Yale won the final set 25-16.
Harvard 3, Brown 0
Harvard took on Brown on Saturday night staring back at a packed crowd for the team’s senior night. The Crimson saw past the Ivy League rankings in a match notable for a dominant performance from Harvard’s team.
The Crimson came up with the first point of the match before the two teams engaged in a brutal back-and-forth battle for the entirety of the first set.
Harvard was on its A-game in the first set, matching higher-ranked Brown’s strength and remaining unwilling to relinquish the lead for the whole set. Harvard solidified its stance after a four-point run with a number of well set, powerful kills from Harvard’s, including one from Faltinsky, bringing the score to 9-14.
Brown seemingly failed to match the Crimson’s strength. Though their blocks briefly provided a challenge for the Crimson in the middle of the set, Harvard would not be held back and pushed the Bears to the end.
With Rossi back in Saturday’s match, the Crimson regained a fierce member of the team’s lineup who gave them six kills in just the first set, including a powerful final blow that brought the score to 21-25 and gave Harvard the game lead.
After a first point from Brown in the second set from a Harvard error, the Crimson responded with a series of six points that included major blocks from junior outside hitter Ali Furquhar and junior middle blocker Ryleigh Patterson — an improvement for the team after struggling to build a strong block early this season.
Faltinsky said blocking, alongside strong passing and communication, was able to set the tone for the game with early and massive successes.
“I think blocking is one of those skills that’s such a momentum shifter, like getting a big block can totally change the pace of the game,” Faltinsky said. “Throughout the whole match, we were just in this flow state, and it was those big points and capitalizing on those big moments that just kind of help fuel our confidence and our energy.”
With a 1-6 lead, the Crimson held their strength, bounding off of the energy in the crowd of more than 200 to fire on all cylinders at Brown. Again, Harvard never once gave the Bears the upper hand, maintaining the lead for the rest of the set.
Brown brought its block out in the second set, catching Harvard weak points and trudging ahead to close the score 16-17 after two successful attempts to stifle the Crimson. But a kill from Rossi followed by two consecutive aces from Wei proved their challenge too difficult.
Widening the lead for the rest of the set, the Crimson successfully limited Brown’s scoring opportunities at the net and finished 20-25.
Brown took an early aim at the lead in the third set, giving the Crimson its greatest challenge of the match. After an ace from Rossi, Brown forced power behind a number of its kills and utilized its block successfully, going point-for-point with the Crimson until Harvard took and kept the lead 5-6.
Brown blocked Harvard from getting a run of more than two points for the entire set as the Bears clawed back. Still, Harvard’s fire proved too much for them to fight.
With a number of incredible kills across the board, the Crimson forced Brown’s hand in the last two points, ending the match with an incredible kill from Faltinsky followed by a block from the formidable Farquhar and Patterson that sent Brown home 24-26 and 0-3 in the match.
Faltinsky credited the team’s success on Saturday to the energy of the weekend. She said that in playing with excitement for the event, the Crimson was able to conquer a challenging opponent.
“I think especially for this game, we really focused on playing for each other, because we wanted to make this such a special memory, and I really think that’s what made this game so special,” Faltinsky said.
While the Crimson officially will not hold a spot in the Ivy Tournament, they are left with two more conference matchups as a final chance to prove their might this season. Harvard takes on both Princeton and UPenn on Friday and Saturday this weekend, hoping to continue momentum from Brown’s game to close the season.
—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.
—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at reed.trimble@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @ReedTrimble1.
