M. Volleyball Falters, But Holds Off MIT 3-1

On Senior Night at the Malkin Athletic Center last night, the MIT Engineers could not have found their way out of a paper bag.

Before a raucous crowd filled with combative Harvard and MIT fans, the Crimson consistently found the holes in the Engineers' defense and took merciless advantage of MIT's unforced errors.

The Harvard men's volleyball team (9-10, 1-6 EIVA) bid a fond farewell to its two talented seniors in its final home game by defeating MIT in four games, 15-4, 15-5, 13-15, 15-9.

In a match full of ups and downs, the Crimson's two seniors--co-captain A.J. Lewis and middle blocker Evan Mager--inspired Harvard to avenge a five-game loss that the Crimson suffered at the hands of MIT earlier this season.

"Winning your last home game is always fun, especially having lost a heartbreaker to them earlier," said Harvard Coach Paul Wilson.

"We played very well most of the time, except during the third game," said junior co-captain Ed Pankau. "We really wanted to give [MIT] a solid thumping."

After a contentious start to the first game, the Crimson charged ahead to stifle the Engineers. A brief tie at 3-3 would be as close as MIT would get in the first game.

Junior outside hitter Joe Herger's dominating jump serve silenced any potential MIT rallies as Harvard garnered seven unanswered points off his serve. Unhittable and well-placed Lewis jump serves won Harvard the last two points as the Crimson captured the first game easily, 15-4.

Like an unstoppable locomotive, the Crimson sustained its momentum through the second game. Harvard surged ahead to a quick 5-0 lead, but the Engineers finally began clawing for air. A kill by the Engineers' Nikolaos Michalakis forced a Harvard side out and led to four consecutive MIT points. Strong Crimson blocking and powerful Mager kills dropped a 9-4 lead into Harvard's lap. A kill by MIT's Robert Moser brought the Engineers to 5-9, but Harvard pounded ahead without looking back.

MIT hit a few too many balls long, and authoritative kills by freshman outside hitter Paul Guilianelli brought the Crimson a 15-5 victory in the second game.

In the third game, the Crimson's most dangerous enemy was itself. With two games in its back pocket, some Harvard players envisioned a productive night with their books a little bit too early in the match. After Harvard surged ahead to an easy 8-1 lead, MIT ran off ten points to find itself at a quick 10-8 advantage over the Crimson.

Questionable calls at the net by the referees and several balls hit long by the Crimson bolstered the MIT lead. Key kills by Michalakis gave the Engineers a 13-10 lead. Authoritative kills by Mager breathed life back into the Crimson, but MIT escaped with a 15-13 win in the third game.

"This season, we've been having problems where we win the first two games and play really well but then we let down," Pankau said. "We're thinking too much about the end result, where we think about winning the match instead of playing the match. It was just very frustrating."

"We started to smell victory," Lewis said. "We started to make a few ball-handling errors, and we started forcing the middle. "

The fourth game began as a painful replay of the third, but fortunately for Crimson fans, Harvard escaped with a win. The Crimson found itself clutching an early 3-0 lead, but balls hit long by Mager and Guilianelli gave MIT a 5-3 advantage.

A kill by Guilianelli forced an MIT side out, and a kill by junior opposite hitter Josh Banerjee allowed Harvard to close to 4-5. Two kills and a dig by Moser gave MIT an 8-4 lead, but the Crimson soon regrouped.

Strong blocking by both teams and unforced errors by the Engineers found MIT and Harvard at a tie at 9-9. A Guilianelli block led a flurry of five consecutive Harvard points. With Harvard leading 14-9, an authoritative kill by Banerjee clinched the game and the match for the Crimson.

"They hurt us again in the fourth game, with the same rotation [from the third game],"Wilson said. "But luckily, we were able to refocus."

Last night's match marks the final home contest for two of Harvard's pillars. Perennially one of the nation's best servers, Lewis is fourth in the nation in digs, averaging 2.57 digs per match.

Mager, whose thundering kills reverberate throughout the building and have intimidated opponents around the country, has been in the nation's Top 10 in hitting percentage at .473.

"It would have been nice to win the match in three [games]," Lewis said. "But we've matured a lot over the season, and it was nice to see us play well at the end."

"I can't imagine what the team is going to be like next year," Banerjee said. "It's already been hard enough to adjust to losing the guys from last year, but I really am going to miss these guys."

The Crimson's next challenge will come on Sunday when it travels to Sacred Heart.