Dartmouth Stumbles at New Hampshire, 3-1

Saturday, September 23

Durham, N.H. / Lundholm Gymnasium

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

3-7,0-1Ivy League

New Hampshire

9-5,0-0America East

Dartmouth

New Hampshire

Makenzie Arent ’23

Photo by: Kyle Relf

9/23/2023 10:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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Dropping a close third set put the Big Green behind the eight ball

By: Kyle Relf

DURHAM, N.H. — Playing its final non-conference match of the season, the Dartmouth volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (25-11, 17-25, 26-24, 25-13) road loss to New Hampshire on Saturday evening.

The Big Green fell to 3-7 (0-1 Ivy League) and the Wildcats improved to 9-5 (0-0 America East).

Kauany Gutz, who recorded a career-high 16 kills against Harvard in Friday night's Ivy League opener, would garner another career-high in the form of 13 digs. The sophomore once again led Dartmouth in kills, this time with 10. Natalie Grover put up nine kills and two blocks, and Makenzie Arent tallied 20 assists. New Hampshire was powered by Hannah Serbousek, who notched 15 kills at a .308 clip. The Wildcats hit .259 to Dartmouth's .115.

New Hampshire came out firing, hitting .455 on its way to a lopsided first-set victory. An early 7-0 run that propelled the Wildcats to a 14-4 lead proved too much for the Big Green to overcome. A five-point run followed not long after and had the hosts on top, 19-6. Serbousek's kill at set point was the backbreaker.

Like Friday evening, Dartmouth bounced back from an opening set loss to win the second. The Big Green never made a run of more than three points, but used consistent offense – mainly from Gutz, Grover and Maddie LaFata – to cruise to a 21-14 lead. Gutz came through with back-to-back kills to help fend off a Wildcat charge and Amelia Gibbs delivered a set-winning ace.

It was anyone's match heading into the third set, and especially when the game was tied 24-24. Another Serbousek kill and a Dartmouth hitting error were the difference makers. An 8-0 New Hampshire run had the Big Green facing an 18-11 deficit, but the visitors stormed back to reach a 22-22 tie following a block from Gibbs and Grover.

After gaining momentum early with a pair of 4-0 runs, New Hampshire took control and barely broke stride, with the exception of a four-point Big Green run. The Wildcats earned the final seven points of the match, ending with LaFata's hitting error.

Dartmouth returns to Ivy League action On Friday, Sept. 29, traveling to Cornell. The match begins at 7 p.m. and fans can stream the action live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available through DartmouthSports.com.