Lem's Questions Answered Against Lions

Harvard women's volleyball Coach Wayne Lem had a host of questions entering his squad's Saturday match with Columbia at the Malkin Athletic Centre.

Could the Crimson bounce back psychologically after a tough loss Friday night against Cornell? Could it come back from an early deficit? Could it keep unforced errors to a minimum?

The answer to each question was a resounding "yes" as Harvard (10-9 overall, 3-3 Ivy) thrashed the lowly Lions (6-7, 0-5) in straight sets.

Leading the way for the Crimson were Co-Captains Peri Wallace and Carolyn Burger. Wallace had a team-high 15 kills in 28 attempts, while Burger added four kills and eight digs, as well as setting well in the win.

"Peri came through with some big hits for us, while Carolyn played an all-around good game." Lem said. "I was very pleased with the play of both our setters (Burger and freshman Jennifer Garcia), and we rebounded from the Cornell game quite well."

The Crimson has continued to cut down on unforced errors as the season progresses, missing only three serves in the match and passing the ball well.

Roar

The Lions matched the Crimson point for point at the onset of the first game, but wilted down the stretch. Columbia claimed only one of the last 10 points in the game as the Crimson coasted, 15-7.

Harvard used finesse to outlast the Lions in the second game, exposing Columbia's suspect middle with a steady diet of dinks from Wallace and Wanita Lopeter, who turned in another strong performance. The Crimson strung together the game's final six straight points to cruise, 15-8.

"We're taught that if we see a triple block, we dink around it," Wallace said. "The middle was wide open all game long, so we read the defense and hit around them."

The third game saw the Lions break out to an early 6-2 lead. However, the Crimson snuffed out any Columbia comeback hopes reeling in the game, 16-14, behind four key blocks by Mary Kroupa. At no point was Harvard's height advantage more obvious, as the undermanned Lions tried to hit through the much taller Harvard blocking line to no avail.

Lem feels that although the Crimson is improving, it needs to establish itself against tougher opponents before it can turn its season around.

"Columbia has talent, but is a little farther behind schedule than the rest of the league," he said. "We were able to be more patient on offense because of Columbia's size, but we're going to have to be more efficient against the better teams in the league if we want to accomplish our goals."

Focusing In

The Crimson has been hardpressed to put back-to-back inspired performances together this season, and intensity was once again a focal point of Saturday's match.

"Our intensity level was okay today, but we seem to play down to the level of competition," Kroupa said. "When we play against weaker teams, we don't concentrate as much and we tend to make more mistakes than against the better teams."

Next weekend the Crimson hits the road, making the trek down I-95 to take on Penn on Friday night before traveling to Princeton on Saturday.

"Next weekend will give us an idea of where we're at going into the league playoffs," Lem said. "Both teams are sound opponents, so we'll have our work cut out for us."