“[The freshmen] are doing great,” Docter said. “Teresa had a really great weekend.”

After falling behind, 28-27, to the Bulldogs in the fourth set, the Crimson faced match point. But a quick three-point rally won the set for Harvard and put Bryant back under pressure.

“I think that [win] was really good for us,” Ingersoll said. “We knew we still weren’t at our best, but I think it felt good mentally. The fifth set is really a mental game—who wants it more?”

In the fifth set, the Crimson again found itself down and under pressure, with the score 12-11 Bryant. And again, Harvard rallied, winning four straight points to take the fifth set and the match.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, HARVARD 1

Harvard could not please the home crowd on Friday night, losing, 25-17, 21-25, 25-13, 25-19, to Eastern Illinois in the season opener.

“We were really excited to play,” Ingersoll said. “Our intensity wasn’t consistent, especially in that game. We could have pulled out another two games to win.”

Docter racked up 14 kills and Wu made 21 digs, both match highs. Fryhofer was second to Docter on the team with a .200 attack percentage.

“Individually, some girls had really good games,” Ingersoll added. “Sandra Lynne really controlled the net.”

The Crimson has two more preseason tournaments in the upcoming weekends, which will serve as preparation for the league season and the ultimate goal of winning the Ivy League Championship.

“It was definitely a jumping-off point,” Ingersoll said. “We hope to work well as a team and keep improving our chemistry so that we can be at our peak at Ivies.”

—Staff writer Charlie Cabot can be reached at ccabot@college.harvard.edu.