Playing its fifth straight match on the road, the Harvard women’s volleyball team hit some major bumps this weekend, dropping matches to Maine and Ivy foe Dartmouth at the Dartmouth Invitational in Hanover, N.H.

In its Ivy League season opener, the defending champion Crimson (2-6) hit a new low. Its 3-0 loss to the Big Green on Saturday was the first Dartmouth sweep in the league rivals’ history.

“[Dartmouth] just came ready to win,” co-captain Sarah Cebron said. “We were playing not to lose—it was just bad.”

After capturing the New England Challenge title to kick off the season, Harvard has been in a rut. The Crimson has dropped five straight matches and has won only three total games in that stretch.

“When you lose that many matches in a row, it’s hard not to get discouraged,” co-captain Liz Blotky said. “We need some sort of inspiration to get back to where we were that first weekend.

“Luckily, it’s pretty early in the season. I have confidence in my teammates and in our program.”

Sophomore outside hitter Laura Mahon (22 kills, 19 digs) and junior middle hitter Katie Turley-Molony (17 kills) were selected to the all-tournament team. It was the second all-tournament nod of the season for Mahon, who also received the honor at the New England Challenge.

MAINE 3, HARVARD 1

Just half a day removed from its embarrassing loss to the Big Green, Harvard came out strong but quickly ran out of gas, dropping a 3-1 (23-30, 30-28, 30-20, 30-26) decision to the Black Bears Saturday afternoon.

In a situation eerily reminiscent of its season opener against Boston College, the Crimson came within two points of taking a 2-0 match lead against Maine (3-7) before losing the second frame and, subsequently, the contest.

“We came out very aggressive,” Blotky said. “Even though we ended up losing the second game, we didn’t feel like we lost. We felt in control of the match.”

With the Black Bears registering 11 attack errors in game two, it seemed as if Harvard would coast through the frame. Instead, the Crimson matched Maine’s poor attack, hitting only .152.

Nevertheless, Harvard moved ahead 28-27 and had a chance to secure a two-game lead. But the Black Bears rallied for three straight points, capturing the second frame 30-28 and setting the stage for the Crimson’s ensuing demise.

“Our offense had started to come back to life,” Cebron said. “But they got runs of points, and that set us back.”

As the match began, Harvard showed no signs of the lackluster performance that had plagued the team the night before. Hitting .333, the Crimson streaked to a 30-23 game one victory.