Boston College Athletics
Boston College
5-6
Harvard
6-2
Volleyball Falls Just Short To Harvard In Five Sets
September 21, 2014 | Volleyball
Cambridge, Mass. -
On Sunday, the Eagles were back in action in their final match of the New England Volleyball Challenge at the Malkin Athletic Center on the campus of Harvard University. The Sunday matchup extended the two schools' total matches played to 25. The Crimson have won 16 of the 24 previous contests which began in 1990, including the last two.
BC dropped a heartbreaker to Harvard in the final match of the New England Challenge. The narrow five set loss marked the Eagles' 17th loss to Harvard in its history.
In set one, the Eagles came out strong, utilizing their hitting threats, especially the outside hitters, Sol Calvete and Katty Workman. BC put up 14 kills in set one along with a .281 hitting percentage, but Harvard outdid the Eagles with 17 kills and a .382 hitting percentage. The hard fought battle for set one did not turn out in BC's favor as they dropped set two narrowly, 25-23.
Set two proved to be an even tighter contest, as neither team held more than a four point lead at any time. Locked in a 20-20 tie heading down the stretch, a Harvard service error and a huge Brittany Pavich kill gave the Eagles a two point advantage. Two BC attack errors tied the game up again at 22 all. The final points were an exchange of kills and attack errors until the Crimson caught a break at 24 all on an Eagle hitting error to go up one. Harvard sealed the set two victory with a kill to make it 26-24.
The Eagles team that stepped out on the floor after the ten minute break had a new air about them. Determined to avoid a sweep, the Eagles pushed through a tight first ten points and then pulled ahead with an eight point run.
Kills from Anna Skold, Julia Topor, Calvete, along with a service ace from Kellie Barnum brought the score to 19-11. The Eagles did not let up, outscoring the Crimson 6-2 in the final push to 25 to take set three with a vengeance.
Set four was another do-or-die moment for the Eagles, one which they emerged victorious from. In an effort that required every single BC player, the Eagles forced the match to a final deciding set five after winning set four 25-23.
The Crimson, who won the first two sets, came out energetic in set five, running off four points in a row before the Eagles finally got on the board. Down 7-3, the Eagles earned four points in a row to tie the score at seven. Harvard reached eight first, holding a narrow lead at the side-switch.
After running off three points in a row, the Crimson let a Workman kill drop, bringing the score to 10-8, Harvard leading. The Eagles rallied off four points in a row, but the Crimson turned around and did the same, ultimately taking set five 16-14.
In the five set loss to Harvard, five Eagles recorded double digit kills. Workman lead the Eagles with 19 kills and 14 digs, marking up another double-double. Calvete also recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs.
Skold had a standout game, notching 11 kills with just two errors, hitting for .429 percent. Courtney Castle lead the team with 22 digs and Barnum dished out 51 assists.
The Eagles will be back in action on Friday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Louisville where they will begin ACC play.
