University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Harvard
UMass Volleyball Falls To Harvard, 1-3
October 16, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 16, 2001
Amherst, Mass.- The University of Massachusetts volleyball team again succumbed to a frenzy of errors and dropped a 1-3 match to non-conference opponents Harvard University this evening at Curry Hicks Cage. The Minutewomen committed 25 hitting errors and nine service errors to let the Crimson drive there way to a commanding victory. The loss marked the third consecutive defeat for the Minutewomen as a stagnant offense has proved deadly. The Minutewomen also had to play this evening without their defensive star, Lyamrie Llovet (Arecibo, Puerto Rico), who missed tonight's match because of a sprained ankle suffered last Friday in the loss to Duquense. Llovet leads the Atlantic 10 in digs with 3.49 dpg.
Game one opened with the Crimson and Minutewomen exchanging point for point through 6-6. Harvard then surged ahead on a 10-3 run to take the 16-9 lead. UMass fought back and pulled to within four at 15-19 on a Jitka Stehnova (Odolena Voda, Czech Republic) ace but could get no closer as 10 attacking errors and a .364 hitting percentage by the Crimson led to a 30-21 Harvard victory. UMass' Nitia Small (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Janeen DeMarte (El Paso, Texas) each recorded four kills in the game while Harvard's Pernilla Schweitzer collected five kills.
Game two was tight through 11-11 as DeMarte kept UMass in the game with four of her match-high 19 kills. Harvard pushed their lead to eight at the 25-17 mark after an ace by Erin Denniston. The Crimson closed the game out with three consecutive points including kills by Denniston, Nicole Meunier and an ace by Mindy Jellin.
The Minutewomen returned for game three with a new found furry and pounded out the first five points of the game to take the 5-0 lead. UMass utilized a .486 hitting percentage and seven kills by Small to cruise to a 30-21 victory and force a fourth game. Lauren Vander Veen (Oakland, Calif.) added five kills in the effort, hitting for .833 and Carol Mattos (Petropolis, Brazil) collected six digs in the win.
In game four, UMass hit a respectable .256 but could not slow a Crimson offense that hit for .444 and Harvard sealed the match victory with a score of 30-22. DeMarte kept the Minutewomen in striking distance with five kills and seven digs but UMass could not hang on.
The Minutewomen finished the match with a .285 hitting percentage and had four players record double-digit kills, led by Small and DeMarte with 19 apiece. Vander Veen added 13 kills and Mattos chipped in 11. Mattos led the defensive effort with 17 digs and DeMarte added 13. Stehnova dished out 57 assists and Clare Baxter (Miami, Fla.) recorded five blocks in the loss including three solos.
Harvard was led by Kaego Ogbechie with 15 kills and Denniston with 14. Schweitzer and Alison Bendush each pulled up 12 digs.
The loss moves the Minutewomen to 9-8 overall (3-5 in A-10) and Harvard improves to 9-5 (2-2 Ivy League). UMass hits the courts again this weekend for a pair of A-10 matches starting with Temple on Friday, Oct. 19 and followed up with La Salle on Saturday, Oct. 20. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Curry Hicks Cage.
