Crimson Keeps Afloat In Division With Win

Needing to win to stay alive in the division race, the Harvard men’s volleyball team played the best it has all season, defeating longtime foe Vassar, 3-1, on Friday night before knocking off undefeated East Stroudsburg (ESU) by the same tally on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors (10-5, 5-1 Hay) had steamrolled through their first five league matches, dropping only three games while building up a perfect 5-0 record.

But the Crimson (7-9, 5-3) raced past ESU in games one and two to set up the big victory and extend its win streak to four.

“It’s definitely our biggest win of the year based on the league standings and also for our development,” co-captain Seamus McKiernan said. “We know that one loss puts us out of the playoff race, so we’re coming with an attitude to every game.”

Harvard’s successful weekend was largely due to the play of its middle hitters: McKiernan, freshman Brady Weissbourd, and junior Andy Nelson.

Despite drawing the attention of opposing blockers, the threesome was able to find holes in the defense and finish points.

Weissbourd had an explosive effort in both contests, posting 20 kills on .500 hitting against the Brewers (1-12, 0-9) before a similar performance against the Warriors the following day.

“Our hitters are a little more physical than theirs,” said sophomore setter Dave Fitz after the match against ESU. “They put up triple blocks against our middles, and we still hit through them.”

The Crimson will have another chance to see ESU this weekend, when the Warriors travel to Cambridge on Saturday.

HARVARD 3, EAST STROUDSBURG 1

The Warriors were taken by surprise, to say the least.

Coming into the match as a significant underdog, Harvard shocked division-leading ESU, winning 3-1 (30-25, 30-26, 28-30, 30-27) on Friday night at Koehler Fieldhouse in East Stroudsburg, Pa.

“I really think they’ve been overrated,” Fitz said. “We weren’t going to roll over like everyone else did.”

The Crimson came out firing from the start, playing solid defense and setting up its solid middle hitters.

In games one and two, Harvard strung together several series of kills to open up large leads.

With the Warrior block struggling to contain the Crimson’s middle hitters—and with Weissbourd leading the way—Harvard cruised to wins in both frames, taking a 2-0 match lead.

“Brady was unstoppable on almost every play,” McKiernan said. “He had only a handful of errors on almost 30 swings.”

ESU made a comeback in the third game, recovering from its shock long enough to take a hard-fought frame from the Crimson, 30-28.

Riding their momentum, the Warriors then opened a five-point lead in game four.

But down 16-11, Harvard began its comeback.

Playing solid defense, the Crimson contained its opponent’s attack while reviving its own offense. And Harvard’s efforts paid off, as the Crimson closed out the Warriors with the fourth-frame victory.

“It’s sort of a turning point in our season,” McKiernan said. “In the past, we often handed our opponents the game. But against East Stroudsburg, we showed a lot of heart and came back.”

HARVARD 3, VASSAR 1

In a tune-up for its biggest match of the season, the Crimson played solidly and cruised to a 3-1 (30-22, 30-22, 28-30, 30-23) victory at Kenyon Hall in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Despite facing a winless division foe for the second time in three matches, Harvard maintained a high level of play in an attempt to prepare for the matchup against ESU.

“Of course we wanted to win because it was a division game, but it was also a preparation game for ESU,” McKiernan said. “We didn’t take it lightly.”

The Crimson offense exploded in the first frame, posting 16 kills on .444 hitting. With the Vassar attack struggling to keep up, Harvard coasted to an easy 30-22 win.

Though the Crimson managed only a .152 hitting percentage in game two, its defense stepped up, holding the Brewers to eight kills on 26 swings.

With sophomore libero Brian Rapp anchoring the defense with 15 digs, Harvard picked up the second frame, 30-22.

“We’ve been digging around the block instead of playing behind it,” Fitz said. “Rapp has been in great position every time.”

Crimson coach Chris Ridolfi used the third frame—the only game that Harvard lost—as an opportunity to give playing time to his more inexperienced players.

But after losing that frame, Ridolfi made sure to allow his regulars to finish off Vassar with a 30-23 game-four win.

“We came back and showed them that we were the better team,” Fitz said. “We were always confident that we were going to beat Vassar.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.