Reeling Crimson Remains Winless

In what is now a recurring theme for the struggling Harvard men’s volleyball team, the Crimson lacked sustained energy and momentum last night at the Malkin Athletic Center, losing 3-1 (30-22, 27-30, 30-23, 30-27) to Springfield in its first EIVA match of the season.

But in the second frame, Harvard (0-4, 0-1 Hay) witnessed a brief glimpse of its potential.

Despite trailing Springfield (4-2, 2-0) 5-2 early, the Crimson got kills from freshman Brady Weissbound and senior Luke McCrone to keep the team on pace with the Pride.

The teams battled point for point before Harvard pulled ahead at 12-11 and never trailed again on its way to the 30-27 victory. The Crimson posted its best hitting percentage of the match (.154) on 14 kills, four coming from McCrone.

But that was the only consistent performance from the Crimson all night.

The team vowed to come out strong in the first game yet was at a loss for how to take control.

After two Springfield blocks, Harvard fell into a 16-8 hole that proved too steep to overcome. Despite matching the Pride to close out the game, the early deficit allowed Springfield to pull away with a 30-22 victory.

“We talked about it in pregame today, about us coming out in game one and focusing on game one, and we did everything but focus in game one today,” Harvard coach Chris Ridolfi said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow because I feel we’re as good as they are and we just don’t show it.”

The third frame was yet another example of the Crimson’s untimely lethargic starts. With numerous errors early on, Harvard again found itself in a deficit, down 12-6.

The team showed some flare to pull within three at 22-19 on a kill from senior Seamus McKiernan, who posted a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. On the whole, however, the team hit a meager .079 and was riddled with service errors in the 30-23 loss.

“We don’t go back and serve with enough purpose,” sophomore setter Brian Rapp said. “There are just a few small things we need to do.”

In the fourth game the two teams battled point for point to tie the game at 12 after a Pride service error.

But as had also previously been the case, the Crimson fell victim to a big run from its opponent, surrendering six consecutive points and falling behind for good.

Thanks to a kill from McKiernan and a solo block from Rapp, Harvard climbed to within two at 29-27, but a block by Springfield sealed its 30-27 victory.

“We’re just not thinking at critical times of the game,” Ridolfi said.

The team is anxiously awaiting the return of veteran setter Dave Fitz, who sat out the last three games with an ankle injury. Fitz hopes to return in a week or so.

“Physically [Rapp] is doing a great job, he just doesn’t have the experience that our other setter has,” Ridolfi said. “[Overall] we have got to make some changes now, because our attackers are just not hitting the high percentage that we need them to hit.”

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.