M. Volleyball Blows By Wentworth

In its final tune-up before league play, the Harvard's men's volleyball team got an easy win.

In a match that lasted less than an hour, the Crimson (3-2, 0-0 EIVA) decimated the Wentworth Leopards (3-7, 2-4 NECVA) at the Malkin Athletic Center last night in three games, 15-3, 15-5, 15-7. The Division I Crimson clearly took advantage of the far less experienced Division III Leopards.

"I think that [the Leopards] were a little intimidated during the match," co-captain A.J. Lewis said. "We just won the New England Championship last month, and they knew that we had."

Senior middle blocker Evan Mager, sophomore opposite hitter Brian Stevenson and freshman middle blocker Justin Denham each had seven kills to balance the Crimson attack. Freshman Conor Gaughan contributed 36 assists to lead Harvard to victory, and Denham also chalked up eight digs.

"Defensively, we were able to score a lot of points," Harvard Coach Tom Wilson said. "It was a good game for us because it gave us some new ideas and showed us the things that we still need to work on for this weekend."

"We played pretty well [last night]," Stevenson said. "We just needed to get our serves in a little more, but it was good because we kept up our intensity for all three games."

A kill by junior outside hitter Joe Herger began the Crimson attack in the first game, and Harvard never looked back. Strong blocking and solid serving gave Harvard a quick 7-0 lead. Authoritative kills by Mager and junior co-captain Ed Pankau suffocated any possible Leopard revivals, and Harvard easily won the first game, 15-3.

The Leopards regrouped to capitalize on several Crimson errors during the second game. A kill by Wentworth's Steven Brown and strong blocking by junior middle hitter David Rooth gave the Leopards a 3-2 lead.

But a Stevenson kill finally gave the Crimson a side-out, and three successive Crimson kills sparked a run that resulted in a 9-3 lead. Skillful blocking by Denham and Stevenson further sealed the second game, which Harvard won, 15-5.

The third game proved to be the most exciting of the evening as the Crimson substituted freely. Early on, Wentworth's John Krammes tied the game 3-3 with a kill, and the Leopards were able to force side-outs throughout the game that prevented the Crimson from garnering an easy victory.

"When they [Wentworth] focused on their serves, they were serving very well," Wilson said. "To their credit, they played a better defense as the match went on."

Blocking by the Crimson's Paul Guilianelli and Pankau eventually gave Harvard an 11-2 lead in the third game, but the Leopards rallied after Harvard made several unforced errors.

Two kills by Wentworth's David Hyde and strong blocking by the Leopards brought them as close to the Crimson as 11-6, but Harvard regrouped after a crucial time-out and dominated the rest of the game.

Pankau's match-winning kill knifed through the Leopard front line and gave Harvard the third game, 15-7.

"[Wentworth] was still playing hard [in the third game], but we were just out there having a great time," Stevenson said. "A lot of players saw a lot of playing time in the third game, and it was good to see a lot of those players, so we got really excited about it."

The third game featured outstanding performances from bench players who made good use of their playing time. In that game, sophomore outside hitter Alex Eilhauer contributed three digs and two kills, and Eilhauer and sophomore outside hitter Auden Velasquez also made valuable contributions.

Last night's game served only as a warm-up to a crucial weekend. The Crimson begins league play on Sunday at Long Island University-Southampton.

"[LIU-Southampton] is definitely a tough team," Wilson said. "As long as we continue to play up to our potential, we should be able to win."

"This Sunday is the match that we've been working for, and we're gearing up to beat them," Lewis said. WENTWORTH  0 HARVARD  3