It’s time for the volleyball team to turn up the intensity, players say.

After losing two successive matches last weekend against Penn and Princeton, the volleyball team (8–7, 2–2 Ivy) is hoping for a comeback against Cornell (3–10, 1–3) and Columbia (10–4, 2–2) this upcoming weekend.

“We are a young team and try to improve every day,” head coach Erin Appleman said. “Our game plan was fine [for the previous matches against Penn and Princeton], we just need to work on our execution for the upcoming games.”

The upcoming games are important for the Bulldogs as they vie to reclaim the championship. The winner is determined based on the win to loss ratio for every team in the Ivy League conference.

“The conference is very evenly matched,” Kelly Ozurovich ’11 said. “Every match is important for us to win the conference and we just need to work on improving for each and every match.”

In previous years, the team has gone undefeated against both Cornell and Columbia. The last time the Bulldogs have lost a set to either Cornell or Columbia was in a 3–1 Eli victory over Cornell in 2007.

Despite having strong records against both teams, the players said that they are eager to get back to winning ways and not take any win for granted.

“The Columbia team is definitely improved from previous years,” Erica Reetz ’14 said. “But, we have good team chemistry and are working together to win as many matches as possible right now.”

The Columbia team has had a strong year thus far and is tied with the Yale women’s team at 4th place in the standings. The team has only lost two games and both were decided in a decisive 5th set. They lead the Ivy League in blocks and opponent hitting percentage.

Yale will depend on continued strong performances from players such as Kendall Polan ’14, who has claimed the Ivy League Rookie of the Week title multiple times this year, and Bridget Hearst ’12, who leads the team with kills.

Last year the Bulldogs were 11–3 in the Ivy League and finished second in the conference.

Play starts at home on Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s home match against the Lions begins at 6 p.m.