IRVINE, Calif. — The Dartmouth College volleyball team opened the season by winning two of three games at the UCI Invitational, defeating fellow New England-based teams Sacred Heart and Holy Cross before falling to host UC Irvine.
The Big Green got past the Pioneers in four sets on Friday (23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21) after dropping the first. Junior Ellie Blain paced Dartmouth with 19 kills and 16 digs, and fellow junior Natalie Grover added 11 kills. Senior setter Mackenzie Arent had 31 assists, with sophomore libero Emma Engstrom leading the way with 20 digs.
The next afternoon, Dartmouth swept the Crusaders, taking all three sets decisively (25-12, 25-8, 25-15). Freshman Kauany Gutz, who grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a team-high seven kills. Arent again led the way with 23 assists, and Engstrom contributed 15 digs.
The Big Green’s second match Saturday did not go as well, with the Anteaters winning in straight sets (25-19, 25-12, 25-23). Dartmouth got eight kills from freshman Ava Roberts, 17 assists from Arent and 16 digs from Engstrom.
The Big Green (2-1) will host the Dartmouth Invitational starting on Friday, with Siena, Lehigh, Merrimack and Hartford visiting Leede Arena.
The Big Green defeated Niagara, 1-0, in their season opener on Friday, then managed a scoreless draw against Canisius on Monday.
Fifth-year Garrett Scott gave Dartmouth the only goal it needed against the Purple Eagles, taking a pass from freshman Oskar Magnusson and putting it into the net in the 73rd minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Costi Christodoulou made eight saves in the shutout.
Against the Golden Griffins, the Big Green were playing down a man for most of the game after senior David Alino was given a red card in the 30th minute, but still kept Canisius out of the net. Christodoulou made three saves for Dartmouth.
The Big Green (1-0-1) head home for the first time this season, hosting LIU on Saturday.
After opening the season in late August with 2-0 wins over Fordham and Sacred Heart, Dartmouth did not have as much luck in the Great Lake State, dropping a 4-1 decision Thursday at Michigan State and playing to a 1-1 draw Sunday at Eastern Michigan.
The Big Green trailed by just one at halftime against the Spartans, but the floodgates opened after that. Michigan State added three more goals in a 15-minute span. Junior Aspen Anderson goal in the 83rd minute, assisted by sophomore Dasa Hase, averted the shutout.
Three days later, Dartmouth jumped out in front of the Eagles in the 24th minute on a goal by sophomore Aleena Seales, with assists from senior Allie Winstanley and sophomore Sydney Brown. The lead held until the 68th, when Hannah Thompson equalized for Eastern Michigan.
The Big Green (2-1-1) have a pair of home games this week, with LIU visiting on Thursday and Fairfield making the trip to Burnham Field on Sunday.
It was a frustrating long weekend for the Big Green, who suffered losses to No. 22 Maine, Quinnipiac and Providence.
Dartmouth fell, 5-2, to the Black Bears on Friday in Orono, Maine. Junior Bronwyn Bird scored the Big Green’s first goal on an assist from junior Lila Browne, but Dartmouth was already trailing by two at that point and was down, 3-1, after a quarter. The Big Green again pulled within one in the second on a penalty stroke from senior Myah Pease, but Maine’s single goals in the third and fourth quarters put the game out of reach.
Still in Orono on Saturday, Dartmouth lost, 4-1, to Quinnipiac. Browne scored the Big Green’s lone goal in the second, before which Dartmouth had already conceded thrice. Senior Holley Cromwell got the assist.
The Big Green opened the home portion of their schedule on Monday and played their closest game of the weekend but came up short against the Friars, 3-2. Browne’s second goal of the season, with Bird assisting, tied the game in the second quarter, and another penalty stroke by Pease in the third gave Dartmouth the lead. But it would not last — Providence scored on a penalty stroke of its own seven minutes later, then took the lead for good with just over three minutes remaining.
Northeastern and Sacred Heart visit Hanover this week, with the Huskies coming in Friday and the Pioneers in town Sunday.
ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Led by a second-place finish from junior Julia Fenerty and a third-place finish from junior Emily Levonas, the Big Green women’s team took the top spot at the season-opening Vermont Invitational, finishing six points ahead of UMass-Amherst and nine ahead of UMass-Lowell.
Fenerty finished the 5K race in 18 minutes, 25 seconds, with Levonas just five seconds behind her in 18:29.9. Junior Annie Jackson finished sixth in 18:41.9, senior Julia Robitaille was 11th in 19:03.1 and senior Macenna Hansen took 20th in 19:27.1.
The men’s team did not have enough finishers to factor into the team score, but senior James Lawrence finished third in the 8K with a time of 25:39.5. Sophomore Ben Williams was 14th in 26:24.7, and sophomore Alexander Craig 36th in 27:32.5.
Dartmouth will host the Maribel Sanchez Souther Invitational in Hanover on Saturday.