Volleyball

East Stroudsburg University topped the Harvard men's volleyball team, 3-2, in a tightly contested match at the Indoor Athletic Building Saturday afternoon.

The Crimson demonstrated that it had the ability, but not the confidence, to beat the second ranked team in the East.

The spikers played their most intense volleyball of the season, fighting fiercely to push the contest with Stroudsburg to five games.

But at two crucial stages of the match, Harvard rolled over and let key games slip through its fingers.

In the first game, super hustling by junior Seth Farber and virtually perfect setting by Russell Riopelle enabled the Crimson's offense to get into an early groove.

Outside hitters Sean Doyle and Scott Alpert pounded through the visitors' block, and soon the spikers were up, 8-4.

But Stroudsburg soon gained momentum, turning the tables as it rushed on to a 14-10 lead.

Then Farber came up to serve and rallied Harvard to tie the score. Just moments later, the Crimson clinched the first game, 17-15.

In the second game, the spikers simmered down and Stroudsburg perked up to gain a 15-8 win.

But Doyle, recently appointed Floor Captain, brought his teammates to a boil in the third.

The senior's on court intensity got the Crimson psyched, as Farber, Alpert, and Captain Mohan Nadkarni effected a crushing offense.

"It was Sean Doyle game of the season," said Nadkarni after the match.

With a 14-11 lead, it looked as it Harvard had the game wrapped up.

But Harvard's defense grew shaky and its offense slid into oblivion, just as Stroudsburg came alive.

The visitors seized the game from the Crimson's hands, 16-14.

"We got nervous when we were ahead," said Nadkarni. "We kept thinking about Stroudsburg as the second ranked team in the East. We didn't expect to win."

Nevertheless, the Stroudsburg rally didn't demoralize Harvard. If anything, the spikers came back to play tougher than ever in the fourth.

Alpert and Riopelle racked up points on serving streaks, with an ace apiece against the visitors. And Doyle led the Crimson's now smooth-running, efficient offense to a solid, 15-8 victory.

In the end, however, Harvard couldn't quite pull it off.

Despite some valiant play by Riopelle, Alpert, and Doyle, the Crimson yielded the final game to East Stroudsburg, 15-9.