Spikers Fend Off Springfield

The Harvard men's volleyball team established itself as the New England division's team to beat when it topped Springfield, 3-1, last night in Springfield. The 15-12, 10-15, 15-9, 15-13 victory lifted the spikers to a 3-0 record after the first half of the division season.

"We're going to be hard to catch," Harvard Coach Mike Palm said last night after his charges downed the defending divisional champions. "They're [Springfield] not going to beat us at home."

None of the Crimson first string played an exceptional match, but starter Jon Tanaka came through late in the final game to lead a come-from-behind effort Springfield held a 12-10 lead and threatened to tie the match at two games apiece. Tanaka tallied some Harvard points with his serve, and with the game deadlocked at 13, the sophomore rejected a Springfield spike to set up the Harvard victory.

Aiding the Enemy

Tanaka's final-game heroics shouldn't have been necessary, however Harvard's sloppy defense and passing kept Springfield in the game Often the passers overshot the mark, sending the ball too close to the net and handcuffing setters Brad Martin and Tom Houlihan. When the ball got within inches of the net, Martin and Houlihan had to jump set the ball, limiting their choice of placement. Springfield could tell where the sets had to go, and Harvard spikers found themselves up against some powerful double blocks.

Palm brought in somphomores Dave Perkel and Mark Chang to help with the defense and passing. Both showed poise and concentration when playing important points in the last two games.

Though pleased that his team took the close games, Palm expressed disappointment at the spikers' uneven play. "We could have dispatched these people a lot sooner than we did," he said.

Optimistic

Harvard faces Princeton Saturday at the IAB, the travels to division-rival Albany State Sunday. Princeton, the only team to defeat the Crimson in match play thus fat, is not in the New England division.