Kimless M. Spikers Move On

After having its unbeaten conference record tarnished last Tuesday night, the Harvard men's volleyball team is looking forward to its match tonight against Roger Williams College in Barrington, R.I. more than ever.

Harvard (15-2 overall, 5-1 EIVA) is itching to prove that it can win with its revamped line-up, which is without the services of junior starter Albert Kim (who is studying for graduate school entrance exams.)

"We are still trying to adjust to a new format and with a freshman [Ned Staebler] replacing a two-year continuing starter Problems are bound to come up," Harvard Coach Ihsan Gurdal explained.

Those problems were in evidence on Tuesday night when the team dropped its contest against Springfield.

"They were all heart but the minute [Springfield] applied pressure, they couldn't react," Gurdal said.

The Crimson hopes to use tonight's game and the EIVA tournament this weekend as preparation for the Ivy League tournament which will be held in early April.

"We didn't feel we played well against Springfield...and we want to use tonight's game to prove that we can play together as a team," Staebler said.

According to junior Captain Vince Marin, the reason the team lost to Springfield was fear. "I just want to put the ball down, I don't want to make a mistake," Marin said, describing the team's composure during the contest.

"It's all a matter of confidence. There wasn't enough intensity on the part of team. We created a team out of them. We didn't go for the kill when we were ahead," Marin said.

Harvard has proven earlier in the season that it can win matches, but the team has yet to prove it can win without Kim..

Marin insists that the team should be able to perform at a much higher level of play, even without Kim, because of the abundance of talent that they have.

The Crimson is favored to win tonight and also has a good chance to win the EIVA tournament, according to both Gurdal and Marin.

The keys to a Crimson victory will be confidence and execution. The talent is already there.