M. Spikers Face Roger Williams

Take care of business, and everyone will be happy.

Mess up, and heads will roll.

Heading into its match with Roger Williams this afternoon at the Malkin Athletic Center, the Harvard men's volleyball team (18-2 overall, 6-1 Ivy) will be satisfied with nothing less than a convincing victory.

"They're not a very big team and they don't have great volleyball skills," senior Brian Jones said. "We just have to stay focused."

Harvard has already met Roger Williams twice this season, once in a tournament at Rhode Island and once at Roger Williams' own gym. Both confrontations led to sound Crimson wins.

Lately, though, Harvard has struggled.

After losing one of its top players, senior Albert Kim, to a shoulder injury last Tuesday, the Crimson barely defeated a weak MIT team later in the week. The Engineers took the Crimson to five games, before Harvard finally pulled the match out.

Heading into the Ivy League Championships and the NCAA tournament in March, the last thing the squad needs now is a slump.

"This will be a good match for us because we're trying to work in some players," senior Per Dutton said. "We're hoping to run the middle a lot better. Our middle attack is key."

Although it would take a serious collapse or a natural disaster to prevent Harvard from winning today, it is clear that larger things are on the player's minds.

"We're still tied for first in our division with Springfield, and it looks like we might both be invited [to the NCAAs]," Jones said. "We don't want to take any chances, though."

Coach Ihsan Gurdal drove that point home to his troops after the MIT game, when he conducted a twenty minute closed-door meeting.

Consider the message delivered, coach.

"We need to beat Roger Williams 3-0," Dutton said. "We have to play more aggressively and maintain our consistency."

Pity Roger Williams. As long as things go to form, that is.