Crimson Poised To Claim Hay Division

Consider it mission accomplished, but by no means game over. Coming into the season, the Harvard men’s volleyball team had a number of aspirations, including hopes of attaining a playoff spot, something it hadn’t done since the 2005 season. Check that one off the list—and add on a few more. Tonight’s match against Rutgers-Newark (8-13, 5-2 Hay Division) in the Golden Dome in New Jersey isn’t just the Crimson’s last regular season contest; it also represents a chance for Harvard (11-6, 6-1) to take the Hay Division title outright.

“We set our goals high, trained hard, and we have a lot to show for it,” junior co-captain Gil Weintraub said.

Such an achievement would pay off in the short-term—giving the Crimson the seventh seed in the EIVA Conference Championship instead of the eighth—as well as set up Harvard for the future. The winner of the Hay division each year moves up into the Tait division, composed of teams like Penn State, currently ranked seventh in the country.

“Taking a shot at bigger teams, although you may not be as successful in season, is definitely going to improve everyone as volleyball players,” Weintraub said. “You really want to compete at the highest level possible, and the Tait division is that for us…I would love nothing more than for Penn State to have to come to the Malkin Athletic Center, go up four flights of stairs, and play on our court.”

If Harvard loses tonight, however, it would enter into a tie for the division title with Rutgers-Newark, and the Scarlet Raiders would hold the tie-breaker in total games won.

So it all comes down to this, going on the road for a high-stakes regular season finale. It will be no easy task, but history is on the Crimson’s side. While Rutgers-Newark has not played since April 3—a loss to last-place Sacred Heart—its opposition is currently on a six-match win streak in conference play. In fact, Harvard’s most recent win, which clinched a share of the division title, was a 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart last Saturday at the MAC.

The Crimson also has a pretty good idea of what to expect tonight, as it rallied at home over one month ago to hand the Scarlet Raiders their first league loss of the season. Facing a 2-1 deficit, the host team picked up its offense when it needed it most, relying on clutch hitting by co-captain Brady Weissbourd and freshman Matt Jones to close out its second league win. Currently riding a string of three consecutive road wins, the Crimson will do its best to use past performances to its advantage.

“We think we’ve picked up on a few tendencies of their hitters, so we’re going to adjust our defense to shut down their leading attackers,” Jones said. “In every match, serving and passing consistently are big for us.”

Yet again Harvard will lean on its big hitters to carry the load. Weissbourd is currently sixth in the nation with 5.28 kills per set, as well as third in the country in service aces and tenth with 1.40 blocks per set. The rookie Jones is second on the team with 3.06 kills per set, and Weintraub is 13th in the nation in assisting his attackers with 12.35 per set.

While considering past performances, the Crimson will be well-served to avoid a repeat of the last time it made the playoffs. In 2005, Harvard laid an egg in its regular season finale, posting a 0.000 hitting percentage in a drubbing by St. Francis. The sorrows followed in its playoff opener, when it fell 3-0 to top-seeded Penn State, ranked third nationally at the time.

But now in the first year of coach Brian Baise’s tenure, the Crimson is looking for a fresh beginning, and it’s off to a good start.

“We’re trying to start a new era, to have some consistency when in the past few years we’ve had some coaching changes,” Jones said. “We’re [heading] in an established direction.”

Whether it is the seventh or eighth seed, Harvard will finally enter the promised land of the postseason after a three year hiatus.

“The young guys are excited for this opportunity to take a crack at making a difference, and for seniors like Brady and [Jeff Nathan], they know this is their last shot,” Weintraub said. “They have made it clear to the young guys that Friday, this is where we win and Rutgers loses.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu