Volleyball Hosts Penn and Princeton This Weekend

Friday, October 2Dartmouth (4-6, 1-0 Ivy League) vs. Penn (7-6, 1-0 Ivy League)
Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
7 p.m.
Live StatsVideo 

Saturday, October 3Dartmouth vs. Princeton (5-5, 0-1 Ivy League)*
Hanover, N.H. – Leede Arena
5 p.m.
Live StatsVideo

THIS WEEKENDDartmouth volleyball will plays its first home Ivy League matches over the weekend, hosting Penn at 7 p.m. on Friday and Princeton at 5 p.m. the following day. 

LAST TIME OUTThe Big Green opened conference play in a huge way, defeating co-defending
champion Harvard in five sets (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) at Malkin Athletic Center Friday. Paige Caridi and Sierra Lyle ended the match with double-doubles, with Caridi registering 13 kills and 13 digs and Lyle recording 11 kills and 11 digs. Emily Astarita led both teams with 23 kills, while Stacey Benton had 58 assists. With two sets apiece, the match went to a fifth set. There were seven ties before the seventh point, but Dartmouth took a four-point lead off consecutive Crimson errors and a pair of kills by Caridi. The Crimson upped the aggression and got within one point (13-12). The Green was at match point following a Harvard error, but a Crimson kill put the score within one once again. Another error on the other side of the net handed Dartmouth the match. 

SCOUTING THE QUAKERSPenn is just one of two teams in the Ivy League (the other being Yale) to have a winning record at this point in the season, entering the weekend with a 7-6 mark. The Quakers are currently on a three-match winning streak following 3-0 non-conference victories over La Salle and NJIT and a 3-1 win against Princeton.

LAST SEASON AGAINST PENNIn 2014, the Big Green went 0-2 against the Quakers, falling 3-1 at home on Oct. 18 (21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 17-25) and 3-0 on the road on Nov. 7 (22-25, 16-25, 21-25).

SCOUTING THE TIGERSPrinceton was on a four-match run after victories over Howard, Rutgers, Duquesne and Hartford, but that streak was cut short with a 3-1 loss to Penn to kick off conference action on Friday. 

LAST SEASON AGAINST PRINCETONDartmouth went 1-1 against the Tigers last year, winning 3-2 on Oct. 17 at home (25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 18-25, 15-11) before falling, 3-0, on the road on Nov. 8 (18-25, 19-25. 26-28). 

LINDSEY AND CO.Having led the Big Green since the 2010-11 season, head coach Erin Lindsey has compiled a record of 42-58 and a 17-39 Ivy League mark through her four years at the helm. Joining her on the bench are first-year assistants Jon Haruguchi and Aylene Ilkson. 

CAPTAINSThe 20-player squad, which is made up of 14 returnees and six freshmen, are led by captains Paige Caridi, Kayden Cook and Kaira Lujan, who are all entering their final year on the court.

IVY LEAGUE STATISTICSA handful of Big Green players are currently leading the conference in a number of categories: Astarita is first in kills (161) and kills per set (4.13) and Lujan is first in hitting percentage (.377). Cook is third in assists per set (9.13) and Benton is right behind in fourth (8.37). Against conference opponents, Dartmouth is also first in kills (69), hitting percentage (.274), assists (68) and points (83.0). 

IVY HONORSAfter her 23-kill, seven-dig performance against Harvard, Astarita was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Week. The junior has posted more than 20 kills in five matches this season. 

FRESH FACESJoining the Big Green to start their collegiate careers are Samantha Bozoian, Jordan Cornwell, Zoe Leonard, Sierra Lyle, Catherine Shepherd and Lida Vandermeer.

NEXT UP FOR DARTMOUTHDartmouth will host Yale and Brown next Friday and Saturday, with both matches starting at 5 p.m.

  

*Record before Princeton’s match against Harvard on Friday.