Eagles Fall In Lead Up To ACC Conference Play
Marly Morgus | Assoc. Sports Editor
Sunday marked the final non-conference matchup for the Boston College women’s volleyball team as it met up with Harvard on Sunday for a hometown battle across the river in Cambridge. While the Eagles were able to climb back from an early two-set deficit, they were unable to complete the comeback, falling to Harvard by a final score of 3-2 for their fourth five-set loss of the season.
In the first set, the Eagles jumped early for a 3-0 lead, but the Crimson fought back. BC tallied 14 kills and Harvard put up 18, but neither team established a sizable lead. Harvard won the set 25-23.
With one set of action gone, the teams put forth similar performances in the second. The Eagles had 13 kills to the Crimson’s 14 in the second, but the tiebreaker, which gave Harvard the eventual 26-24 advantage, was in errors, of which BC committed eight to Harvard’s three.
Down two sets, the Eagles were in a sudden-death situation, but BC took the next set in commanding fashion in a 25-13 win. This time, BC had 18 kills and just three errors.
After the Eagles took the fourth set 25-23, the game was forced into a fifth-set tie-breaker. The Eagles tied the set at 12 and took their first lead of the set, only to be surpassed again, unable to hold onto their brief, narrow lead and eventually falling by a score of 16-14 to lose the match.
Women’s Tennis Competes In Brown Invitational
Tom DeVoto | Heights Staff
To open its 2014-15 campaign, the Boston College women’s tennis team traveled south to Brown University in Providence, R.I. to compete in the Brown Invitational. The other participants in this event were Boston University, University of Rhode Island, UMass-Amherst, Stony Brook University, Rutgers University and Providence College.
Last year, the Eagles finished at No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I Northeast Region rankings, and looked to continue their regional dominance this season.
The highlight of the Invitational for the Eagles was the first career collegiate victory of Asiya Dair on Friday morning, as she was able to come away with the easy two-set win (6-3, 6-0). The highly touted freshman from Kazakhstan is currently ranked No. 10 in the ITA Preseason Newcomer rankings; it marks the first time a BC player has ever been ranked in the Newcomer division. Her ranking could rise with a strong showing early in the season.
Up next, the Eagles will get a bit of a breather before heading out west to California for the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. The tournament is held in Pacific Palisades and runs over a full week from this Saturday to the following Sunday.
The top doubles team of senior Jessica Wacnik and sophomore Lexi Borr are expected to come out of the gate strong this season. Currently, the duo ranks No. 21 in the country.
Wacnik, Borr, and Dair have qualified to participate in the Championships with some of the best college tennis talent in the country. The trio enters as prequalifying singles, while the Borr and Wacnik sit as the third alternate pair for the main draw–doubles division.
