This weekend will see the end of home play in 2011 for the Columbia Lions volleyball team (13-7, 7-3 Ivy) as the Light Blue take on Harvard this Friday, Dartmouth on Saturday, and Sacred Heart on Tuesday.

Harvard (11-9, 4-6 Ivy) swept the Lions three weeks ago in Cambridge, Mass., putting a serious dent in the Light Blue’s 2011 championship hopes. The Crimson are out of contention for the league crown—but as the Light Blue learned in its last meeting, they can’t be taken lightly.

Harvard junior outside hitter Taylor Doctor did the most damage for the Crimson. In the waning minutes of the second set, Doctor went on a 7-0 run against the Lions, leading to a 25-21 Harvard set victory, and carrying the Crimson to a 2-0 set lead. After that point in the match, the momentum was with the Crimson, which would go on to beat the Light Blue in straight sets, handing the team its second conference defeat just a week after their stunning win over Princeton.

In order to avoid being swept by the Crimson in 2011, the Light Blue will have to rely on the consistent lineup which has helped it win in the past. Equally important will be containing top players such as Doctor.

Dartmouth (13-8, 5-5 Ivy) is another team the Lions faced three weeks ago. However, the Lions did manage to put the Big Green away, defeating them 3-2 in Hanover, N.H.

In that match, the Light Blue came back from an early 2-0 deficit against the Big Green to win in five. The Big Green showed the ability to play at Columbia’s level despite their lack of a winning record in conference play. Four Dartmouth players—freshman Alex Schoenberger, senior Madeline Baird, senior Annie Villanueva, and freshman Lucia Pohlman—totaled 14 or more kills. As they proved in the first two sets of that match, the Big Green is capable of hitting well. They hit .273 in the first set and .316 in the second.

To wrap up the weekend, the Lions play their final home game on Tuesday against Sacred Heart (19-7). The Pioneers are currently second place in the Northeast Conference and should be the Lions’ most formidable opponent this weekend. The Pioneers have won eight of their last ten games with five of those eight wins coming in straight sets.

Though there is still hope for Light Blue championship this year, the Lions will need some help. In addition to winning out, the Lions will need three of Yale’s four remaining opponents—Penn, Princeton, Harvard, or Dartmouth—to step up and defeat the juggernaut that has only lost six sets in its last ten games.