M. Volleyball Oppresses Roger Williams

Knocking down American patriots is getting to be a habit for the men's volleyball team.

Two weeks after sweeping Daniel Webster, the Crimson (7-5, 0-3 EIVA) defeated Roger Williams 3-1 (15-8, 3-15, 15-13, 15-9) last night at the Malkin Athletic Center.

The turning point came when co-captain Ed Pankau stepped up to the serving line with the score knotted at 13 in the third game.

Pankau served an ace to give his team the lead, and the Crimson volleyed its way to victory on match point.

"We fought hard to come back in the third game," co-captain A.J. Lewis said. "We got our confidence back and our blocking picked up."

Pankau led the way for the Crimson last night, falling two blocks short of a triple-double. He posted a lucky 13 kills and digs, and rejected 8 Hawk shots.

Harvard had been reeling until late in the third game. Roger Williams triple blocked the Crimson's middle attack to force Harvard to focus on the outside of the court.

The strategy proved successful in the second game when Roger Williams cruised to a dominant 15-3 win. It scored points in bunches, including a six-point service run by Matt Franke.

"Roger Williams had amazing defense," Lewis said. "We weren't putting balls away like we are used to. They are very scrappy on defense."

That defense kept the Hawks in the deciding game with the score tied at 9-9. It took about six rotations before Lewis buried a hit to break the deadlock. Roger Williams never scored again.

"I put a ball away at 10-9," Lewis said. "And we never looked back."

Harvard had a strong opening game, running its middle offense to perfection. The Hawks seemed befuddled as freshman setter Conor Gaughan dished out the assists from the center.

Gaughan finished the game with 50 assists.

"In the first game, we ran the middle flawlessly," Lewis said. "They couldn't stop us. In the second game, they made an adjustment and shut us down."

All told, the Crimson trailed in the middle contests, and it struggled with its confidence as it tried to mount a comeback.

"We came out a little flat early," Pankau said. "We lost our confidence a bit. But we kept at it, played our game, and chipped away."

Junior outside hitter Joe Herger and senior middle blocker Evan Mager also turned in exceptional performances last night.

Herger notched 11 kills, 2 service aces, and dug out 14 balls. Mager edged Herger in kills with 12 to accompany his 8 digs and 5 blocks.

Harvard played last night's game on its home court, and that has proved a distinct advantage in the two teams' recent match-ups.

Last year, Harvard traveled down to Rhode Island and lost 3-0. The Hawks were only grabbing a measure of revenge for its 3-0 defeat two seasons ago at the MAC.

"Its always a battle with Roger Williams, and home court is an advantage," Lewis said. "They are a very consistent team."

The Crimson snapped a two game losing streak with its win last night, having fallen to Princeton and Rutgers-Newark over the weekend. It now gears up for a Saturday doubleheader against NJIT and SUNY-New Paltz.

"I think we could have blown the match after the second game," Lewis said. "We held on and came back. That's nice to see."

It's certainly nice to see, even if that means burying yet another American icon.