Spikers Take Apart Yale and Dartmouth

Determined, daring and dynamic, the Harvard men's volleyball team trounced Yale and Dartmouth, 3-0 apiece, in a tri-match at the Indoor Athletic Building Saturday.

With two new faces in the starting line-up, the Crimson tested out a five-one rotational system that included five hitters and one setter.

Led by junior Russell Riopelle, whose smart setting enabled Harvard powerhouse hitters Mohan Nadkarni and Scott Alpert to run a devastating offense, the Crimson gained a 10-0 lead in the first game against Yale.

Sophomore Adam Keller then came up to serve, and after acing the Bulldogs at 11-0, scored four more points to shut them out.

After winning the second game, 15-6, the Crimson made yet another line-up change, replacing Riopelle with Captain Terry Martin in the position of setter.

In the third game, the Crimson's defense lapsed, forcing Martin to chase passes and preventing birth from setting up solid offensive plays.

Harvard was down 6-4, but outside bitter Sean Doyle's excellent spiking, rallied the Crimson to close the match with a 15-9 win.

But the best volleyball of the day was played during the final match between Harvard and Dartmouth.

The Crimson was eager to avenge its surprising loss to the Big Green last Tuesday.

That defeat marked Harvard's first East Coast Volleyball League Three loss and its first loss to an Ivy League team other than Princeton in as long as anyone can remember.

With Riopelle back in the setting position, Doyle nailing the outside, and Nadkarni and Alpert turning in their usual, solid performances. Harvard clinched the first game 15-8.

In the second game Keller and Riopelle connected on a quick middle but to put the Crimson ahead, 4-0.

With Sean Doyle producing his best hitting of the season, the Crimson seized the second game, 15-3.

And at 10-1 in the third, it looked as if Harvard would simply run away with the match.

The Green Machine made a comeback, but it short circuited its own effort by making an illegal substitution with Harvard ahead 14-8, that cost Dartmouth point and, therefore, both the game and the match.

This despite all the lineup switches and the new, experimental five-one system, the Crimson looked stronger than ever.

"This is more change than we've had in the past two to three years," said Nadkarni. "It requires more involved participation of the whole team. You have to be ready to play at any time."

Keller the Killer

One player who's seeing a lot more court time is Adam Keller. Keller has replaced middle-hitter Young Kim, suspended by Coach Ishan Gurdal for missing last Tuesday's match at Dartmouth.

"I'm feeling a little more comfortable even though it's only been a couple of days," said Keller, who is playing in the middle for the first time. "The tempo is a lot faster for me now. In the middle, you've just got to go."

Another player seeing a lot more court time is Russell Riopelle.

The junior, who was the quarterback of the freshman football team two years ago, claims that he enjoys running plays on the volleyball court as much as on the football field.

"Things went well," said Riopelle. "I felt comfortable with it. I enjoy the responsibility that comes with being a sever.

"It's like being a quarterback again."