Volleyball Rallies Past Harvard in Five-Set Victory, 3-2

Saturday, November 3

Cambridge, MA

5:00 PM

Brown University

10-12, 3-9Ivy

Harvard University

10-11, 5-7Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Brown	18	25	28	26	15	3
Harvard	25	23	30	24	8	2

Volleyball Rallies Past Harvard in Five-Set Victory, 3-2

11/3/2018 11:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior Elisa Merten, junior Makena Ehlert, and freshman Kristin Sellers all posted double-doubles as Brown University volleyball rallied past Harvard University in five sets, 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 28-30, 26-24, 15-8), on Saturday evening at the Malkin Athletic Center.

Facing set deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 as well as match point in the fourth set, the Bears (10-12, 3-9 Ivy) came back with victories in sets four and five to top the host Crimson (10-11, 5-7 Ivy) in their second five-set match of the weekend.

"It was a good step for our program and the young people on our team to recover from a five-set loss last night and to stay determined," Brown head coach Ahen Kim said. "We dropped the first set tonight and came back to win the second and looked a bit steadier. To lose the third set in extra points and to recover from that set was big. To not let the past stop us from taking the next two sets was a great sign of our growing maturity."

Merten (Woodside, Calif.) posted her second double-double of the year on 13 kills and 10 digs while Ehlert (Orange County, Calif.) tallied her seventh double-double of the season behind 12 kills and 18 digs. Ehlert now has six double-doubles in her last seven matches.

Sophomore Eliza Grover (Menlo Park, Calif.) totaled 13 kills and seven blocks for her 11^th double-figure kills match of the year. Junior Jacqueline Jacobs (Atlanta, Ga.) totaled eight kills on .400 hitting and nine blocks, finishing the weekend with 17 blocks. Freshman Olivia Dukat (Roswell, Ga.) chipped in six kills.

Sellers (Menlo Park, Calif.) dished out a match-high 30 assists alongside 17 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Freshman libero Paris Winkler (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) came up with 21 digs for her fourth match of 20 or more digs on the year and third such effort in her last four outings. Sophomore Emma Chow (Boulder, Colo.) added 17 assists.

"By sets four and five our hitters became very efficient," Kim said. "Throughout the match our middles made a difference contributing on offense and keeping the blocking coming. Our middles proved to be the difference today."

Brown and Harvard went back and forth in set one before the Crimson used a 5-0 run to pull ahead 21-15. The Bears pulled within 23-18 before the hosts closed out a 25-18 set win.

The Bears responded with a 25-23 victory in set two to knot the match at one set apiece. Brown pulled ahead 23-20 before Harvard tied the score at 23-23. The Bears countered with the last two points to take the frame.

The Crimson clipped Brown 30-28 in extra points in set three, capturing a 2-1 set edge. The Bears held set point at 24-21 before the Crimson rallied to equalize at 24-24. Four more ties ensued prior to Harvard winning the set's final two points. Ehlert notched five kills in the frame.

Brown answered with a win of its own in extra points in set four, taking the fourth stanza, 26-24. Facing match point at 24-23, the Bears seized the next three points to send the match to a decisive fifth set. Merten terminated on five kills in the period.

The Bears never trailed in the fifth period, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and taking an 8-5 advantage at the switch. Harvard remained within 11-8 before Brown concluded the match on a 4-0 run. Grover led the Bears with five kills on .625 hitting in the set.

For Harvard, Mindie Mabry tallied 15 kills, Grace Versames posted a double-double on 28 assists and 11 digs, and Anna Uhr came up with a match-high 29 digs.

Brown evened the season series with Harvard at 1-1 as the Bears dropped a 3-2 decision to the Crimson on Oct. 12.

Next, Brown plays its final matches of the regular season against Columbia on Friday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and Cornell on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Video of all Brown volleyball home contests and all Ivy League matches, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.