Dartmouth Remains First in League with 3-2 Win over Columbia

New York, N.Y. – In its closest match this season, the Dartmouth volleyball team rallied to defeat Columbia, 3-2, (21-25, 25-20, 30-28, 25-27, 20-18) on the road Saturday.

The Big Green are now 9-7 on the season and 6-1 in Ivy League play, while the Lions dipped to 5-11 and 3-4 in conference action.

Senior Paige Caridi and junior Stacey Benton recorded double-doubles, with Caridi registering a season-high 26 kill and 11 digs, and Benton ending the night with 14 digs and 43 assists.

Columbia took control of the first set, quickly taking a 10-5 lead. Dartmouth slowly started to close the gap and, following two Lion errors, the Green trailed by just one (13-12). The visitors stayed within a few points until the end, when three straight points off two kills and a Dartmouth error gave Columbia the win. 

It was not until halfway through the second set that Dartmouth established itself as the leader. Tied at 13, two kills by Caridi and a Columbia error put the visitors ahead, 16-14. The Lions did not make it easy, staying within two or three points the whole time, but three consecutive points off a Caridi kill and two errors gave one set to each team. 

Twenty-one ties occurred in a very close third set. With the score tied at 23, junior Molly Kornfeind’s kill made it match point for the Big Green, but a Dartmouth error gave Columbia’s its 24th point. A kill for the Lions put them at match point, but senior Kaira Lujan’s timely kill tied things at 25. 

Columbia was at match point three more times after that, but Dartmouth saved it every time. Tied at 28, junior Emily Astarita had back-to-back kills to give the Green the victory. 

The Lions started the fourth off with a 3-0 lead and remained ahead for the majority of the set until a Columbia error tied things at 20. The two teams tied the score at every point and, with Dartmouth leading, 25-24, an error by the Green tied things at 25. An ace for the Lions put the home team at match point and an error by the visitors sent the match to a fifth set. 

Columbia led for much of the fifth and, following a kill and a Dartmouth error, was at match point with a comfortable advantage (14-11). Four points by the Green from two Caridi kills and two Columbia errors put Dartmouth up, 15-14. Four ties later, the score was at 18-18 and an error by the Lions put the Big Green at match point. Astarita’s kill gave the victory to Dartmouth.

Next weekend, the Green will host a single match, taking on Harvard at 7 pm. on Friday.

Wilson Announces Retirement as Head Coach of Swimming and Diving

HANOVER, N.H. — Jim Wilson, the head coach of the Dartmouth men’s and women’s swimming teams, announced his retirement effective at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.

“It’s truly been an honor to coach at Dartmouth, and I will especially treasure all of the student-athletes I've had the privilege to coach during my tenure,” Wilson said. “I am grateful to have had this opportunity at such a prestigious institution as Dartmouth, but I’m ready to move on to the next stage of my life.”

A veteran in the world of collegiate swimming, Wilson will complete his 23rd year at the helm of the men’s program and his 10th as the women’s head coach. His teams have earned a number of awards and records, both in and out of the pool. Both programs are regularly listed among the Scholar All-America teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, and he guided the men and women to top-five finishes at the Ivy League Championships in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Wilson mentored Nejc Zupan ’14 to men’s All-America honors as the first Big Green swimmer to advance to the NCAA Championships since 1980. Zupan also was the program’s first-ever Swimmer of the Meet at the Ivy League Championships as a junior and the Harold Ulen Career High Points Swimmer Award at Ivies as well during his senior campaign.

The women’s team has enjoyed its share of success under Jim’s leadership as well. The Big Green set eight records and posted 25 all-time top-10 performances at the 2007-08 Ivy League Women’s Championships. More recently, standout senior Kendese Nangle broke three individual records and was a part of four relay teams that broke records at the 2012-13 Ivy Championships.

“We appreciate all the effort and dedication that Jim has put into the swimming and diving program,” said Director of Athletics and Recreation Harry Sheehy. “He has enriched the lives of so many Dartmouth student-athletes during his career here, and we wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.”

Wilson’s first collegiate coaching job was as an assistant at his alma mater, Utah, from 1977-87. He was promoted to head coach of the women’s team in 1987 before assuming head coaching duties of both the men’s and women’s teams in 1990. Wilson’s men’s team won the Western Athletic Conference title in each of his three years at the helm. He also earned individual recognition as the University Coach of the Year in 1992 and the WAC Coach of the Year in 1993. Wilson coached both Utah teams until 1993, when he came to Dartmouth.

He was also a successful water polo coach, coaching Utah’s men’s team from 1980-89 and taking over as Dartmouth’s coach in 1993. In 1997, he guided the Big Green men to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) national title before leading the women to a second-place finish at nationals in 2004 and 2005. In addition, he was named the 2004 National Coach of the Year for women’s water polo.

Wilson was an All-America swimmer at Utah, graduating in 1977 with a degree in telecommunications before earning another degree in exercise and sports science in 1980.

Big Green Men's Tennis Goes 8-2 on Day Two of Dartmouth Invite

HANOVER, N.H. – On the second day of the Dartmouth Invitational, the Big Green men’s tennis team went 6-1 in singles and 2-1 in doubles action.

Sophomore Max Fliegner defeated Buffalo’s Pablo Alvarez, 6-2, 6-1, while classmate Aman Agarwal had a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Army West Point’s Austin McCasin. Freshman Joey Haig went to three sets against Buffalo’s Akhil Mehta, winning the first and third by scores of 6-0, 6-0, but narrowly falling in the second, 7-6.

In doubles, junior Max Schmidt and freshman Roko Glasnovic had an 8-6 win over Miller and

Big Green Women's Soccer Falls to Yale on the Road, 1-0

HANOVER, N.H. –Keri Cavallo scored in the 47th minute to give Yale a 1-0 victory over the Dartmouth women’s soccer team at Reese Stadium on Saturday. 

The Bulldogs improved to 6-3-0 and 2-0-0 in Ivy League play, while the Big Green dipped to 7-3-2 and 0-2-1 in conference action.

“We generated some chances but I think nerves got the best of us and we weren’t able to get enough shots on goal,” head coach Ron Rainey said. “We had some good defensive possessions that allowed us to generate a lot of corner kicks and get to the end line, which was a very positive thing. I have to give credit to Yale. They didn’t have a ton of chances after that goal, but they had their chance and they got through and finished nice and relaxed.  

“In this tough league we’re playing in, we just have to ask ourselves to play at another level to be able to push that first goal through. It’s a tough result, but there are areas we can improve upon in practice next week.”

A corner kick by junior Meredith Gurnee opened the game and, in the fifth minute, sophomore Melanie Vangel had her shot hit the post, setting the pace of the game right from the beginning of the half. The Green and the Bulldogs had four shots apiece in the first, but only half were on target, and the game went into the second half tied at zero. 

At 47:28, Cavallo broke that tie with her third goal of the season. A scramble in front of the net gave the ball to Sofia Griffs, who tapped it to Cavallo to put in. In the last 30 minutes of action, the Green fought hard in attempt to tie the score, taking five shots to Yale’s zero, but they were not able to get past Rachel Ames in goal. Senior Jackie Friedman ended the game with three shots, two of which had to be saved.

Dartmouth outshot Yale, 11-5, and held a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks. In net, junior Casey Cousineau had two saves while being saddled with the loss and, on the other side of the field, Ames stopped four shots. 

Next Saturday, Oct. 17, the Big Green will be on the road at Penn for a 5 p.m. game.

Dzienkowski Named NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kathy Dzienkowski, a senior on the Dartmouth softball team, was named a 2014-15 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete, as announced by the organization this week.

Coaches nominated individuals with a 3.5 or better grade point average during the 2014-15 academic year.

There were a total of 1,554 honorees in all of Division I and Dzienkowski was one of 22 players from the Ivy League to be recognized.

As a junior last season, the Austin, Texas, native appeared in 14 games with 12 starts behind the plate. She ended the season with eight runs, 15 hits and two home runs, while batting in nine. 

Late Rally Gives Men's Soccer a 2-1 Victory over Vermont

HANOVER, N.H. – Trailing by one with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Dartmouth men’s soccer team went on to score two goals within 66 minutes to defeat Vermont, 2-1, on Burnham Field Tuesday evening.

Sophomores Matt Danilack and Matt Greer were credited with the goals, with Danilack scoring the game-tying marker and Greer earning his first game-winner of the season. Greer also earned the assist on Danilack’s tally. 

The Big Green improved to 5-3-1, while the Catamounts dipped to 5-5-1.

“I give credit to Vermont,” head coach Chad Riley said. “They are a good team and had some good chances. We were disappointed to give up one goal on a set piece, but what a fantastic response we had to that. It showed a lot of character and leadership and it made me proud to see that we didn’t lose composure. It was a good team effort. A lot of people stepped up and played a very good game. I am very proud.” 

Vermont had its first real attempt at a goal in the 25th minute, when one of its players intercepted a cross near Dartmouth’s goal and took the ball towards junior James Hickok in net on the foot of a speedy Catamount, being stopped only when a Green defender kicked the ball out.

The Catamounts controlled the action in the second half, outshooting the home team, 9-6. With 24 minutes remaining in regulation, Miralles shot from just outside the box and sent the ball past Hickok. Lucky for Dartmouth, junior Ricardo Perez was in the net to prevent the goal.

At 74:11, a yellow card gave the visitors a free kick and was headed out by a Dartmouth defender in the box. The ball was sent directly to Nile Walwyn, who kicked it through a sea of Big Green players into the right of the net to put Vermont up by one with 15 minutes to go. 

With the clock at 87:55, Greer’s corner kick landed right in the center of the box and was headed into the left corner by Danilack, tying the score at one with just two minutes to play. At 89:01, with the ball was deep in Dartmouth territory, it got knocked out and sent to Greer, who was completely open in the field. He evaded one defender, which put him head-to-head with the Greg Walton in net and the sophomore sent the ball into the right of the net past a diving keeper.

The Catamounts outshot the Big Green, 14-11, and had a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks. Hickok earned his second win of the year and stopped just one shot, while Walton had to make five saves.

Dartmouth will be on the road for two Ivy League matches, heading to Yale for a 4 p.m. game on Oct. 10 before traveling to Philadelphia to take on Penn at 7:30 p.m. the following Saturday, Oct. 17.

Gold Helmet Award Stays In Hanover This Week

Courtesy: Mark Washburn
Dalyn Williams

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The New England Football Writers’ Association office unveiled its weekly Gold Helmet Award winners at a luncheon today, and Dartmouth senior Dalyn Williams took home the honor for Division I (both FBS and FCS) regional teams. This is the second time in his career that he has received the award, also earning it last year for his performance against this week’s opponent, Yale.

The honor comes as no surprise as Williams received national FCS player of the week awards on Monday from STATS and the College Football Performance Awards for his performance in a 41-20 victory at Penn this past Saturday. The native of Corinth, Texas, was on target with his throws against the Quakers, breaking a school record that had stood for 53 years by completing 92.0 percent (23-of-25) of his passes for 336 yards while matching a personal best with four touchdown tosses. The 6-0, 215-pound quarterback was also a threat with his legs, leading Dartmouth with 73 yards on 13 carries and two more scores.

Williams finished the day with 409 total yards, the fourth-most by a Big Green player ever and the third time he topped 400 in a game. His 336 passing yards marked his second straight 300-yard game and the fifth of his career, tying former NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler for the most by a Dartmouth quarterback. Each of his scoring strikes went further than the previous one, going for eight, 22, 30 and 43 yards.

Williams is currently second all-time at Dartmouth with 7,072 total yards and needs just 178 more to surpass Fiedler for the record. Of those 7,072 yards, 5,653 have come through the air, the third most in Big Green history and just over 1,000 yards behind Fiedler. Williams is the most accurate passer at Dartmouth ever, having completed 63.4 percent of his 727 pass attempts, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 45-to-8 is by far the best in Big Green history. He has not thrown an interception on any of his last 181 attempts, which is the second-longest ever at Dartmouth; Williams holds the record of 216 set at the start of his career.

This is the second straight Gold Helmet for Dartmouth as wide receiver Victor Williams took home the hardware last week. The senior was plenty worthy this week as well having caught 12 of the 23 completions for 213 yards, the second-most in school history.

Dartmouth will play its homecoming game on Saturday against Yale (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) in a matchup of unbeaten teams at 1:30 p.m. The game will be televised by Fox College Sports with Eric Frede and Steve DeOssie calling the action. Big Green fans can listen to the Dartmouth radio broadcast featuring Adam Giardino and Wayne Young ’72 on 99Rock (WFRD 99.3 FM) locally and free online through the Ivy League Digital Network (ildn.tv).

Williams Racks Up Conference, National Player of the Week Honors

HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth quarterback Dalyn Williams put on quite a show during the Big Green’s 41-20 victory at Penn on Saturday, and the country is taking notice. Not only did the Ivy League select him as its co-Offensive Player of the Week today, but he was also pegged as the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week, the FCS National Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards and a College Sporting News FCS National All-Star. College Sports Madness selected Williams as its Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week as well.

A 6-0, 215-pound senior from Corinth, Texas, Williams rarely misfired on his pass attempts against the Quakers, connecting on 92.0 percent (23-of-25) to break a school record that had stood for 53 years. Those 23 completions led to 336 yards through the air, his second straight 300-yard game and fifth of his career, tying former NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler for the most by a Dartmouth quarterback. He also matched a personal high with four touchdown tosses, each one further than the next going for eight, 22, 30 and 43 yards.

In addition to his passing prowess, Williams led the Big Green with 73 rushing yards on 13 carries

Hu and Donald Help Dartmouth to 5-2 Win at Providence

Photo courtesy of: John and Matt Risley
JTRSPORTS.NET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Julia Donald and Rebecca Hu each netted a pair of goals Sunday afternoon as the visiting Dartmouth field hockey team defeated Providence, 5-2, at Lennon Family Field.

The Big Green improved to 4-5 overall with the win, while the Friars fall to 2-10.

Donald wasted little time in scoring her first of the afternoon and her seventh of the season, finding the back of the net just 23 seconds into the contest. She notched her second seven and a half minutes later to build the Dartmouth lead to a pair.

Hu scored her second and third goals of the weekend in the outing as well, netting her first of the day

Women Maintain Ninth-Place Standing at Princeton Invitational

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Dartmouth women's golf team held on to ninth place with a 40-over 328, finishing just a single stroke behind Penn and three ahead of Brown in the 15-team field of the Princeton Invitational at the Springdale Golf Course on Sunday.

Freshman Julia Calbi recorded the low score for the Big Green on the day with a 78 (+6) to tie for 20th, while sophomore Isabelle Kane had the best overall finish with a 74-83—157 (+13) in the rain-shortened tournament.

Harvard rallied on Sunday to pull out the team victory after starting the round 12 strokes behind Princeton. But the Crimson shot 10-over par with a team score of 298 to finish one shot better than the Tigers with a 616 (+40).

Claiming medalist honors was Georgetown’s Jacquelyn Eleey who finished the tournament with a 76-73—149 (+5), three strokes ahead of the field.

Kane had entered the day tied atop the leaderboard but fell back with her final round of 83 (+11). Calbi was just three strokes behind with a 160 (+160), while freshman Hana Bradshaw, sophomore Jessica Kittelberger and freshman Catharine Roddy posted a 169, 170 and 171, respectively.

The women have a week off before concluding the fall portion of their schedule at the Rutgers Invitational on Oct. 16-17.

Volleyball Rebounds to Defeat Princeton, 3-1, in Ivy Play

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth volleyball defeated Ivy League foe Princeton for just the third time in program history – the first being on Oct. 18, 2013 – by a score of 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 25-14, 25-17), fighting back after a dropped first set to win the remaining three inside Leede Arena on Saturday evening.

The Big Green improved to 5-7 and are now 2-1 in league play, while the Tigers fell to 5-7 and are winless in conference action with an 0-3 mark. 

Senior Paige Caridi had a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs, while junior Emily Astarita led both Ancient Eight programs with 13 kills. Freshman Zoe Leonard had 15 digs to lead Dartmouth and junior Stacey Benton had 37 assists.

“I was really proud of how the team came out and rebounded not only after the match last night, but after a shaky first set today,” head coach Erin Lindsey said. “I think we had a good mindset coming into the match, but we’re still not executing at the level we needed to at the beginning of the first set. 

I’m really excited that we were able to make the adjustments and turn things around to get the win.

“I am really pleased with the outside hitters for stepping up and attacking in the third and fourth sets and for allowing for much more balanced offense,” Lindsey continued. “Also, Zoe, Jordan and Paige did exceptional jobs on defense in the back row, which really allowed us to fight for points.”

The visitors took a 4-0 lead in the first and would maintain control for the remainder of the set. Dartmouth got within four points (22-18), but two consecutive errors by the home team gave Princeton what would be its only victory of the day. 

Early in the second, the Tigers held a 9-6 edge before the Green scored six points of their own, interrupted only by a Princeton kill, to take a 12-10 lead. The score remained incredibly close for the entirety of the set until a three-point run by the visitors put them ahead, 22-21. Four ties put the score at 25-25, but two Princeton errors gave Dartmouth the win. 

Dartmouth took a 5-0 lead in the third following a Princeton error, two aces by freshman Sierra Lyle and two Caridi kills. The Big Green remained comfortably ahead until five straight points by the Tigers put them within three (14-11). Nevertheless, Dartmouth was able to counter every point Princeton would score and ended the set with five unanswered points off two Tiger errors, an ace by Benton and a kill by Caridi and senior Allison Brady. 

What started off as a close fourth set soon changed when kills by Brady, Caridi and junior Molly Kornfeind, and an ace by Benton put Dartmouth up, 11-5. The Green got as far as nine points ahead (20-11), but the Tigers closed the gap slightly with two kills and a Dartmouth error to make it a 21-15 set. A kill by Caridi put the home team at match point and a Tiger error ended the match.

“After last night we knew that, to win, we had to go back to being disciplined on our system and that’s exactly what happened today,” Caridi said. “Our execution was better today. Our goal against Princeton was to perfect what we needed to perfect and to have our outside hitters be aggressive and not give them easy balls. Our defense was way better tonight, our middles were great and Kaira Lujan was a beast at the end.”

Next weekend, Dartmouth will host Yale and Brown in Ivy League contests that are both scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

Tannenbaum Falls in Pre-Qualifying Round of All-America Champs

TULSA, Okla. – Senior Brendan Tannenbaum represented the Dartmouth men’s tennis team in the pre-qualifying round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America Championship on Saturday.

The ITA All-America Championship is one of the biggest collegiate tournaments of the year. Over 350 of the best players from all over the country travel to Oklahoma to compete in the event each year. 

East Tennessee State’s Diego Nunez and Tannenbaum went to three sets, with neither player relenting. Tannenbaum won the second set, 6-1, but dropped the first and third, 6-4, 6-3, and Nunez ended up walking away with the victory.

“I thought Brendan did some things very well in his match today,” assistant coach Tom Boysen said. “He returned extremely well and he won a lot of points by using his serve to set up offensive opportunities. This match was close throughout and it turned on two or three key points. I’m proud of the way he represented Dartmouth.” 

Next week proves to be a busy one for the Big Green. On Monday, junior Diego Pedraza and sophomore Ciro Riccardi will play in the qualifying singles event, while Tannenbaum and fellow senior Dovydas Sakinis will play in the doubles qualifying event the following day. Sakinis will compete in the main draw for singles, which starts on Thursday.

Big Win for Big Green in Ivy Opener at Penn, 41-20

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Senior Dalyn Williams set a school record by completing 92 percent of his passes (23-of-25) for 336 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for 73 yards and two more scores as Dartmouth won at Penn for the first time since 1997, 41-20. Senior Victor Williams was on the receiving end of 12 of those throws for 213 yards — setting career highs for a second consecutive week — and two touchdowns as the Big Green started the Ivy slate with a victory and improved to 3-0 for the first time since that last win at Franklin Field 18 years ago.

Dartmouth racked up 506 yards while holding the Quakers (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) to 263, and the Big Green scored on each of its four full possessions of the first half, building up a 27-0 lead before Penn even recorded a first down. Williams collected 201 total yards in the opening half and was 12-of-13 throwing the ball with the lone incompletion a throw away to avoid a blitz. In the second half he amassed 208 more to give him 409 for the game, just the sixth game of 400 or more total yards in Big Green history; Williams owns three of those games.

It didn't take long for Dartmouth to impose its will as senior A.J. Zuttah knocked the ball free from

Field Hockey Drops Ivy League Road Tilt at Brown, 2-1

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – The Dartmouth field hockey team dropped an Ivy League road contest Saturday morning at Brown, 2-1. 

 

Rebecca Hu scored the Big Green’s lone goal of the contest in the 11th minute, while goalkeeper Paige Duffy stopped five shots in the losing effort.

Brown (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute on a goal from Alexis Miller following a corner play. Emily Arciero and Anna Masini — sister of former Big Green (3-5, 0-2 Ivy) player Lisa Masini ’13 — picked up the helpers on the play.

That one-goal advantage lasted just under three minutes as Hu jumped on a rebound after a Dartmouth penalty corner and buried a shot into the back of the net for the unassisted equalizer.
The home team wasted little time in regaining the lead as Ellie Seid notched an unassisted marker in the 15th minute.

Neither team was able to find the scoring touch the rest of the way as a defensive battle ensued for the final 55:12 of play.

Part of that defensive battle was in the form of a defensive save by Clare Detrick-Yee on the Big Green side and another by Maddie Ayles for the Bears.

Brown goalkeeper Kattie Hammaker picked up the win, matching Duffy save-for-save and finishing with five.

Dartmouth finished the contest with edges in shots (20-15) and penalty corners (10-9).

There is little time for rest as the Big Green are back in action on Sunday down the road against the Providence Friars.

Dartmouth Bests Brown, 8-5, in Defensive Battle

Photo courtesy of: John and Matt Risley
JTRSPORTS.NET

HANOVER, New Hampshire – In a game that could only be characterized as a defensive battle, the Dartmouth women’s rugby team defeated Brown, 8-5, Saturday afternoon at Brophy Field. 

 

The Big Green (2-1, 2-0 Ivy) benefited from a penalty kick in the first half and a try in the second half by senior Tatjana Toeldte, who accounted for all of the home team’s points.

A late try by the Bears’ Uzoamaka Okoro in the 71st minute made it a three-point game, but Dartmouth was able to hold off another scoring threat in the final minutes to improve to 2-0 in Ivy play this season. The loss was the first by Brown (3-1, 2-1 Ivy) in 15s against an Ancient Eight opponent in two years.

“We knew this was going to be an 80-minute barn-burner,” head coach Katie Dowty said afterward. “We were able to do all of the things that we focused on in training well enough, as well as neutralize the areas where we thought Brown was strong and could potentially hurt us.”

“I’m so proud of this team and what they came out here and did today,” Dowty added. “They worked hard all game and were rewarded for their efforts.”

The story of the game was Dartmouth’s massive advantage in terms of possession, controlling the ball for what seemed like the entirety of the contest. However, when the Green and White had the ball close to the tryline and poised to score the visitors from Providence had an answer with outstanding defensive efforts, a trend that was a constant all afternoon.

Were it not for those numerous stops right at the doorstep by the Bears, the Big Green would have walked away from Saturday’s tilt with a far more lopsided score in their favor.

“We dominated possession, but we just couldn’t convert that possession into points. That’s something we have to focus on moving forward,” Dowty added.

In contrast to the rest of the game, Dartmouth was able to make a defensive stand of its own in the late goings as the home team kept a resurgent Brown team from picking up points in final minute to earn the Ivy victory.

The Big Green return to action next Saturday, October 10, when they play host to Princeton at 10 a.m. as part of Homecoming festivities.

Big Green Volleyball Falls in Straight Sets to Penn

HANOVER, New Hampshire - Dartmouth volleyball was defeated by Penn by a score of 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 12-25) in Leede Arena on Friday evening.

The Big Green dipped to 4-7 and are 1-1 in conference play, while the Quakers improved to 8-6 and are now 2-0 in Ivy League play.

Junior Emily Astarita led both teams with 11 kills, while classmate Stacey Benton had 19 of the team’s 22 assists. 

“Obviously we had very poor execution tonight which didn’t allow us to score points and put together any runs,” head coach Erin Lindsey said. Our serve receive passed really well, but we just were not setting well enough and our hitters were not taking big enough swings to get the ball down against a good defensive team. We have to do better in order to contend in this conference, as the Ivy League has strong defense. That’s what we are going to focus on going into tomorrow.”

Penn opened the match by winning 10 of the first 12 points, going 7-0 before an error gave the home team its first point. With the Quakers ahead, 15-8, the Big Green mounted a comeback, scoring five points in a row off a kill apiece by senior Paige Caridi and Astarita and two errors on the other side of the net to make it a 15-13 set. Another run by Dartmouth tied the score at 18, but that would turn out to be the Green’s final point of the set, as the Quakers scored seven unanswered points to win. 

The visitors took the first point of the second set, but Dartmouth soon caught up, tying the score at six following a Penn error and an ace by Astarita. The Big Green took its first lead of the set off three Quaker errors and an Astarita kill to make it 10-7 in the home team’s favor, but Penn would tie the score and take the lead back soon after. A Dartmouth error would end up giving Penn its second set of the night.

Unanswerable runs were what gave the Quakers their third and final victory. Penn had a 7-2 lead and Dartmouth got two points closer following an error and a kill by freshman Samantha Bozoian, but three kills and an error for the Quakers made it an 11-4 set. Senior Allison Brady got a kill in there before the visitors got four more points (15-5) and got as far ahead as 20-9 before two Penn errors made the score 20-11. Junior Molly Kornfeind would add one more kill, but three straight Quaker points shut the set down.

Dartmouth will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Princeton at 5 p.m.

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

Victor Williams Garners Gold Helmet Award

HANOVER, New Hampshire — The New England Football Writers’ Association office unveiled its weekly Gold Helmet Award winners at a luncheon today, and Dartmouth senior Victor Williams took home the honor for Division I (both FBS and FCS) regional teams.

A 5-9, 165-pound wide receiver from Muskogee, Oklahoma, Williams had a career game for the Big Green against Sacred Heart this past Saturday, setting personal highs in both receptions (11) and receiving yards (178) to help Dartmouth defeat the visiting Pioneers, 49-7. Among his catches was a career-long 60-yard touchdown toss late in the second quarter, as well as grabs of 37 and 32 yards. His 178 receiving yards are the 10th most in a single game in Big Green history and leave him 20 yards shy of becoming the 20th player at Dartmouth to amass 1,000 in a career.

This is the sixth Gold Helmet earned by a Big Green player in the past seven seasons. Nick Schwieger ’12 took home the honor once in each of his final three seasons, while current players Will McNamara (2013) and Dalyn Williams (2014) earned it once each.

Dartmouth (2-0) opens up Ivy League play this Saturday by traveling to Penn (1-1) to face a Quaker squad that is flying high after a 24-13 victory over fourth-ranked Villanova last Thursday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Big Green fans can tune in to 99Rock (WFRD 99.3 FM) on the radio or online at wfrd.com to get the call from Adam Giardino and Wayne Young ’72.

Dartmouth Women's Soccer Shuts Out Maine, 3-0

Photo courtesy of: Doug Austin

SACO, Maine – A goal apiece by sophomore Melanie Vangel and junior Jessica Lukas and an own goal by the opponent led the Dartmouth women’s soccer to a 3-0 victory over Maine in a neutral-site game on Tuesday evening.

The Big Green improved to 7-1-2 and extended their unbeaten streak to eight games, while the Brown Bears dipped to 5-4-1. 

“We talked today about needing to have a complete team result and we knew we were going to rotate