Blue blockers fight Green and Crimson spikers

Phoebe Dann, CC '98

The season is on the line. Every kid has the dream: one game back with two to play, the league leader coming to town, and all the glory up for grabs. The Yale women's volleyball team is faced with just that enticing scenario this weekend when Ivy co-leaders Dartmouth and Harvard come to town with the league title in the balance. Yale (15-7, 3-2 Ivy) hosts the upsart Crmson (10-11, 4-1 Ivy) on Fri., Nov. 1, and the Big Green (16-6, 4-1 Ivy) on Sat., Nov. 2.

Harvard comes to New Haven enjoying what might be its best Ivy season ever. The Crimson finished fifth in the Ivies last year, but strung together an amazing run at the league tournament championship, defeating the favored Elis along the way and contributing to Yale's early exit. "They've been very determined since they had a taste of that success," Bulldog head coach Peg Schofield said. The Crimson are led by junior Elissa Hart, who is among the league leaders in kills, and setter Kate Nash, who Schofield thinks "is pretty good now, but has the potential to be an excellent player." According to Schofield, the Cantabs lack a true middle-blocker and have been forced to rely heavily on Hart for their offense. Yale will seek to use its superior size and depth to handle Harvard. "We are more athletic, our setter is better, and our middles are quicker, stronger. When they are in a tight situation they should go to the middle, and that's what I'm hoping they will do," Schofield said. "If they try to shut down one of our hitters we have other people who can do the job because we are such a well rounded team."

Rosie Wustrack, BR '99, is the hitter the Crimson are most likely to focus on. Wustrack won her third Player of the Week honor with outstanding performances in Eli victories over Hartford, Fairfield, and, most importantly, Brown. Wustrack's 18-kill, 15-dig, five-block performance against the Bears capped a string of five straight victories for the Blue, who both catapulted themselves into contention for the regular-season crown, and kept Brown, which was 3-1 Ivy before the match, out of first place. Should the opposition manage to stop Wustrack, Yale will look to its upperclassmen for a response. Erin Walsh, SM '97, who has been among the Ivy leaders in blocks throughout her whole career, and Pheobe Dann, CC '98, who is second on the team in kills, will both benefit from any extra defensive attention that teams give to Wustrack.

If the Elis win on Friday, Saturday will be the most interesting day in recent league history. Dartmouth will arrive in New Haven fresh off its match with the second-place Bears. Should Yale beat Harvard, Brown beat Dartmouth, and Princeton beat Columbia, five teams will be tied at 4-2 on the last day of the season, and four of them will be playing each other.

The Big Green are easily the surprise story of the year. Led by sophomore outside-hitter Alison McKinley, a two-time Ivy Player of the Week and the league leader in kills, kills per game, and digs per game, Dartmouth has executed a turn-around unprecedented in the history of the program. Only recently revived as a varsity sport, women's volleyball at Dartmouth has suffered, going 2-19 in league play during the past three seasons. This year the team has benefited from the Dartmouth athletic community. "They have been putting a lot of money into the program, into recruiting and the like," Schofield said. "I expected that as soon as they got a couple of players they would do extremely well--they have those high expectations for their programs at Dartmouth, and the underdog mentality will be an inspiration for them and not a weight."

Yale will have a size and experience advantage, since Dartmouth's best player is only 5'9", and the team is dominated by sophomores and freshman. Schofield does not think the youth of the Green will be much of a disadvantage. "Due to the unique pressures of the Ivy League, players tend to have their best years early in their careers, so being young is not always a problem." Schofield expects Dartmouth to focus its energies on its top hitter, and she expects that to play to Yale's strength. "It really doesn't matter if they focus on Rosie or any one player. That gives other players a shot, and they can all kill a rally with skill when given the opportunity."

The Elis must sweep the weekend in New Haven if they hope to win first seed in the Ivy tournament. The early loss to Princeton could hurt the Blue, especially if they defeat the top teams in the league only to find themselves with second-seed because of a tiebreaker. A second seed could be worse for the Elis than a third or fourth seed, since the Ivy tournament is at Cornell, and the Big Red may very well finish seventh. Schofield is not concerned, remarking that "the league has been so up and down this year that you aren't going to get a match that doesn't require a fight."

The coach summed up the needs of her team this weekend, knowing that the wins are important, but that the true challenge lies ahead. "It takes a really good weekend to win Ivies. As long as we play really well against both teams, it should be enough momentum for us going into Ivies."