Volleyball Faces Tough Competition at Mizuno Invitational II in Texas

Photo of Katherine Kocurek courtesy of Gil Talbot.

Mizuno Invitational II Tournament Website (Live Stats available of all matches).

Story Line
Harvard travels to the Mizuno Invitational II at Rice in Houston, Texas for three matches. The Crimson meet No. 23 Wichita State Friday at 5:30 p.m., then take on host Rice at 2 p.m. and South Carolina at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Last Time Out
Harvard dropped a heartbreaking five-set match to Connecticut Tuesday night at the Malkin Athletic Center. The Crimson (2-2) fell 25-21, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13 to the Huskies (3-5). Sophomore Anne Carroll Ingersoll was unstoppable, recording 14 kills on 25 attempts for a .480 clip and registering a match-high seven blocks.

Junior Mikaelle Comrie and freshman Taylor Docter also posted 14 kills in the effort. Sophomore Christine Wu collected a match-high 19 digs, while senior Lily Durwood handed out 47 assists. Senior co-captain Chelsea Ono Horn also reached double-digits in digs with 10.

Scouting the Shockers
No. 23 Wichita State improved to 6-1 on the season with a 3-0 win over Oral Roberts Tuesday. The only loss for the Shockers thus far was to Pittsburgh at the Louisville Invitational.

The Shockers have swept it’s last three matches and have only gone to four games twice this season.

Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina heads to the Lonestar state with a 6-0 mark. The unbeaten Gamecocks won the Gamecock Invitational with sweeps of UNC Greensboro, Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky.

South Carolina opened the season Big Orange Bash where the Gamecocks defeated Clemson, 3-2, College of Charleston, 3-2, and Winthrop, 3-1.

Scouting Rice
The hosts schools sports a 7-1 record heading into the weekend. Rice has won six straight contests, including the USF/Asics Challenge this past weekend.

The Owls only loss of the season came at the hands of Oklahoma and their only five-set match as a 3-2 win over San Diego State.

Collecting Honors
Freshman Taylor Docter was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week (Sept. 8) for her performance in the Crimson’s 2-1 showing at the Harvard Invitational last weekend, while sophomore Christine Wu earned a spot on the honor roll. Docter recorded 37 kills (2.85) on the weekend, including a team best 18 kills in Harvard’s win over Colgate.

Home Sweet Home
Katherine Kocurek will play in her home state this weekend, less than 30 miles from her hometown of Kingwood.

Crimson Statistical Leaders
Three Crimson players have 50 or more kills thus far. Mikaelle Comrie and Taylor Docter pace the team with 51, while Anne Carroll Ingersoll has 50. ingersoll leads the team in blocks with 1.00 per set, while Docter paces the squad in aces with nine (0.67 per set). Christine Wu has a team-best 89 digs (4.94) and Lily Durwood leads the way with 175 assists (9.72).

Career Stats
Katherine Kocurek is 69 digs away from second all-time at Harvard in career digs and 141 away from the program record. Classmate Lily Durwood is inching closer to second all-time with 2,635 career handouts. She is 1,650 away from second on that list. Chelsea Ono Horn is four aces away from 10th on the all-time service ace list.

On the Horizon
The Crimson remains on the road for three more contests next weekend. Harvard travels to Durham, N.H., for the Holly Young Invitational. The Crimson will play Arizona State, New Hampshire and Wyoming.