W. Spikers Endure Frustrating Tourney

STORRS, Conn.--This season has been a frustrating one for Harvard women's volleyball Coach Wayne Lem. It seems like every time his team appears to turn the corner, something new stands in its way.

There were times this weekend here at Gampel Pavillion in the Side-out Husky Invitational when Harvard (7-6 overall, 1-1 Ivy) appeared to be a team on the rise, excelling in most phases of the game en route to a third-place finish in the round-robin tournament.

However, in its losses to Hartford and the University of Connecticut, the Crimson was a disorganized group of individuals plagued by a lack of intensity.

Harvard's passive play in the big matches worries Lem, especially with Ivy League play only one week away.

"We keep beating ourselves with mental mistakes," Lem said. "For us to be successful, we need to return to fundamentals and develop a winning attitude."

The Crimson opened the tournament Friday against a pesky Farleigh Dickinson squad, with freshmen setter Jennifer Garcia starting in place of the injured Carolyn Burger. In workmanlike fashion, Harvard disposed of the tournament's defending champs in four sets.

"We really controlled the net throughout the match," Co-Captain Peri Wallace said. "Everything was clicking against FDU."

Later that night, Burger returned to the starting lineup, but that didn't stop the Crimson collapse against Hartford. With sloppy passing and poor defensive coverage, Harvard fell in three straight sets to the Hawks, who went on to win the tournament with a perfect 4-0 mark. The Crimson only managed to garner nine points in the match.

Harvard's next opponent, UConn, entered the tournament with an 0-13 mark. Saturday afternoon saw a far different Huskies squad than the one that dropped its first 13 decisions, as UConn rolled over the Crimson in a sluggish performance by both teams, 15-11, 15-13, 11-15, 15-10.

The Crimson closed out the tournament on a high note, pounding Fair-field in three games to claim third place with a 2-2 mark. The outcome was never in doubt, as defensive specialist Mari Rodriguez provided the serves and junior outside hitter Wanita Lopeter the kills.

Keep it Up

"It was important that we finish the tournament on a winning note," Rodriguez said. "We did what we needed to do to win."

The players echoed Lem's sentiments about the tournament.

"We were unable to keep momentum throughout an entire match," Wallace said. "Our execution on offense and defense has been inconsistent, and that makes it difficult for us to beat good teams."

There were some bright spots in the tournament. Lem commended the play of Wallace and Lopeter, who continues to impress with her hitting and serving.

The Crimson travels to Worcester tomorrow to take on Holy Cross, before beginning its Ivy grind next Saturday at Dartmouth.

Jason Gross contributed to the reporting of this article.