Men's Spikers Fall To Southampton

The Harvard men's volleyball team knew when it played Southampton College at the Malkin Athletic Center on Sunday that it would be facing a superior squad.

Southampton won the match, but the Crimson was not even able to meet the effort level or morale of its opponent, falling by a score of 15-7, 15-1, 13-15, 15-4.

The first game started slowly, as each team made careless mistakes and could not capitalize on the other's weaknesses. After Harvard trailed, 5-3, senior Ryan Westendorf had a big block to give the Crimson the serve.

When Harvard had the advantage of serving to score points, however, players either served out or hit the ball into the net. The Crimson also had a difficult time passing to the setter, which hinders the offensive attack.

The game remained close as both teams matched sloppy mistakes, but after Harvard narrowed the deficit to 9-6, Southampton cruised to the 15-7 win.

Apparently having used the first game as a warm-up, Southampton started the second match with a 4-0 serving run.

After a tool play off Southampton's block by Harvard's Ryan Oliver gave the Crimson a serving possession, the momentum was stopped short by a Southampton kill.

As a result of its costly mistakes, the Crimson assisted Southampton to a crushing 15-1 victory.

After substitutions were made by Southampton to start the third game, Harvard began to work more as a team. As its passing became more consistent, the Crimson utilized different options to get back into the match.

The Crimson matched Southampton point for point until a big block by sophomore Jim Rothschild, followed by two quick plays by freshman David Michaels, gave Harvard a 7-4 edge.

After the Crimson's mis-hits allowed Southampton to tie the score twice, at 8-8 and 11-11, another huge block by Rothschild increased the momentum and gave the Crimson a 15-13 triumph.

Harvard started the fourth game with a two-point deficit, but called a timeout and won back serve with a kill by Michaels.

Nevertheless, the Crimson went on to miss crucial serves in its opportunities to catch up with Southampton, whose unstoppable kills increased its lead from 5-0 to 9-2.

Despite holding Southampton to three sideouts for game point, the Crimson's inconsistent passing and hits into the net led to the 15-4 loss.

"Southampton is the top team in the league. They were physically a lot more talented, and a lot bigger," Harvard coach Ihsan Gurdal said.

Despite Westendorf's 13 hits (8 kills) and Rothschild's 13 hits (6 kills), Oliver felt the team did not rise to the challenge.

"I was disappointed with the overall energy. Today was a low point for the team," he said.

Oliver also said that the loss of David Olson, Harvard's biggest kill leader, had a significant effect.

"The general focus was lower, and that guaranteed they were a better team," he said.

The team will compete in the Vassar Classic on Friday and Saturday, and head to Rutgers for a match on Sunday. Southampton  3 Harvard  1