M. Volleyball Routs MIT, 3-0

The Red Line Rivalry between the Harvard and MIT men's volleyball teams rocked the Malkin Athletic Center last night. The Crimson (8-4, 5-2 EIVA) destroyed the Engineers (8-15, 2-8) in a devastating three game rout (15-13, 15-4, 15-10).

Earlier this season, MIT tenaciously took Harvard to five games before the Crimson pulled out a dramatic 3-2 win. Last night, however, the Crimson had relatively little trouble in speedily sending the Engineers back to Kendall Square.

"It's a big win for us," said Harvard coach Tom Wilson. "Our floor defense and blocking definitely carried us and the extra offensive we got from Justin Denham was huge."

Last night was sophomore middle blocker Justin Denham's first match since suffering a back injury two weeks ago. He contributed to the Crimson attack with 8 kills and a .385 hitting percentage and added two solo blocks and seven block assists.

"I felt I came out ready to play for the match," Denham said, "I'm just really happy to be back on the court and playing volleyball."

His teammates were also happy to have Denham back in the lineup.

"It was great to have JD [Justin Denham] back for the match," said co-captain Ed Pankau. "He is such a mammoth force at the net."

Denham, aside from his offensive and defensive input, was also an emotional leader on the court. His verbal explosions after key points rallied his teammates around him.

"Justin definitely carried the energy of the team," said junior outside hitter Brian Stevenson. "He really charged us up and focused our intensity on winning the match."

Denham's intensity was much needed in the early going.

The Engineers started the first game with an 8-1 run, forcing Wilson to call a timeout. Harvard seemed disorganized, and the lackluster effort was reflected in the early seven-point deficit.

After the timeout, though, the Crimson stole the momentum from the Engineers with thunderous kills by Denham and senior outside hitter Joe Herger. Harvard's floor defense also kicked into gear with Pankau coming up big with insulting blocks.

The newfound momentum allowed Harvard to claw its way back into the first game. The Crimson forced MIT to take a timeout as it tied the scored at 13. Two quick points later, Harvard won the first game and was on its way to sweeping the match.

The Crimson put on an exhibition of solid offense and stifling defense to start off the second game.

Behind the consistent serving of junior co-captain Justin Micomonaco, who finished the night a perfect 20 for 20, Harvard surged out to a commanding 9-1 lead.

The Crimson's thorough attack was not only punishing, but also painful.

On two separate occasions in the second game, Pankau unloaded kills that ricocheted off the faces of MIT freshmen Kai McDonald and Ramon Partida.

To add insult to injury, Harvard won the second game 15-4, on an ace from Micomonaco.

After the resounding win in the second game, the Crimson fended off the Engineers' late resurgence with more scrambling floor defense to win the third game 15-10, and sweep the match 3-0.

The win was Harvard's second sweep in a row and kept the Crimson in first place in the EIVA. A first place finish in the league will guarantee Harvard a spot in the EIVA playoffs in April.

Harvard will now focus on its final home match of the season against Queens College on Saturday. Last night's Red Line Rivalry brought out the highest number of fans this season.

"The crowd was great," said freshman setter Mike Bookman. "Playing in front of good fans is always a bonus."