Effort Shows in Victory

CAMBRIDGE—For the first time in weeks, the Harvard men’s volleyball team finally looked like it was having some fun on the court.

The Crimson used a substantial height advantage and a lot of energy to coast to a 3-1 (30-26, 30-27, 27-30, 30-20) victory against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Du Pont Gymnasium last night.

After some halfhearted efforts in league games of late, the Harvard players have discussed their lack of energy on the court.

Recently, the Crimson (5-9) has lacked the team cohesiveness to accompany its size and technical skills. In particular, the team has struggled out of the gate, letting opponents jump out to big leads that proved too much to overcome.

So last night, when the team came onto the court shouting, jumping, and exchanging an endless line of high-fives, it spelled a turnaround from the team’s recent woes.

“We were trying to get emotional, trying to get into it,” said freshman middle hitter Brady Weissbourd. “We really felt together.”

“Against Springfield, we didn’t really feel a lot of drive,” Crimson coach Chris Ridolfi added. “[Tonight] we were just trying to feel like a team, to act like a team.”

But as the first game got underway, it looked as though last night’s performance might be just more of the same.

Harvard found itself in a five-point hole after an MIT ace, but managed to stay close on two timely kills from co-captain Seamus McKiernan.

By the time the Crimson took a 24-23 lead—its first of the game—on a McKiernan kill, the opening frame seemed firmly in its grasp.

Harvard’s energy certainly helped, but so did a substantial size advantage.

In particular, the 6’9 Weissbourd and 6’7 Andy Nelson had a lot of success for the Crimson.

It seemed as if whenever the Engineers (17-8) and their crowd gained momentum, Weissbourd sailed up above net to register a silencing block or kill.

“We were really able to control the net,” Ridolfi said, “and a big part of the men’s game is controlling the net.”

Perhaps most importantly, however, Harvard managed to reverse its recent trend of sloppy play at the ends of games.

The last ten points of the second game proved the most exciting of the match by far, with the Crimson fighting off the pesky Engineers and a lively home crowd. As the home fans chanted, “Let’s Go, Tech!” MIT tried to keep the score close with a couple of kills from senior Michelangelo Raimondi and freshman Eugene Jang.

But the Crimson responded and quieted the crowd with a few big plays of its own, including two emphatic kills from Weissbourd as the game neared its close.

“We didn’t let the crowd get to us,” Weissbourd said. “The whole time, we were just having a lot of fun.”

The win for Harvard came at an opportune time. With games at Vassar and East Stroudsburg this weekend, the Crimson needs two wins if it wants to realistically stay in the Hay Division title hunt.

Now riding only its second multiple-match winning streak of the season, the team hopes that the energy it has created will carry into the weekend.

“We’re far and away the more talented team in our league, but we stumble when we’re not there mentally and emotionally,” McKiernan said. “This game is about the energy and fire you can bring to it.”