SEASON RECAP: Shorthanded Crimson Shares Title

Going into the spring season, most people expected the Harvard men’s volleyball team (11-8, 6-2 EIVA Hay Division) to win a couple more games than it did a year before.

Just being able to tack on a few more in the win column would have certainly been a step in the right direction for first-year coach Brian Baise and his players.

“When I took the job, I didn’t know how we were going to do, what sort of players I would have,” Baise said.

But the Crimson had loftier goals in mind.

Surprising even the most optimistic of supporters, it won a share of the division title and made its first appearance in the playoffs since the 2005 season, marking a significant turnaround in just one year.

“I thought going into it that we were going to be a really strong team,” co-captain Brady Weissbourd said. “You can never really go into a season expecting to go into the playoffs, but we definitely knew that we were good enough and really wanted it.”

Despite a roster depleted by multiple injuries and the unexpected departure of freshman star Nicola Ivica, the scrappy Harvard team was able to defy the odds. The team relied on strong leadership from the upperclassmen—led by Weissbourd and junior co-captain Gil Weintraub.

“The leadership of the upperclassmen made it really easy for the freshmen to come into this team and play an important role,” Baise said. “The team was very supportive of each other, very demanding of each other, expected to play hard and play well.”

With its record at .500 after four games, Harvard faced its toughest stretch of the season as it traveled to play two difficult road games against defending national champion Penn State and league rival East Stroudsburg on consecutive days.

But while the Crimson was intent on making its presence felt, the team flopped, hitting rock bottom as it fell, 3-0, in both matches.

Just when it seemed like that nothing could have gone right for Harvard, the players began to come together as a team, gelling with each other off the court and passing the ball with confidence on it.

The Crimson won four of its next five games and nine of its next 11, including a thrilling victory against league rival Rutgers-Newark.

“We decided to practice harder and play harder, certainly not let that weekend get us down,” Baise said. “In some ways, that was clear on the bus ride home. We weren’t going to stay down for long.”

“After that weekend [against Penn State], we beat Rutgers-Newark in five, which really showed them that we could come together and compete with the best in our division,” Weissbourd added.

From then on, Harvard played like a team worthy of a league championship, using Weissbourd’s and freshman outside hitter Matt Jones’ hitting abilities to score, and juniors Soren Rosier and Erik Kuld’s prowess on the defensive end to block.

“Because we have so few players, we really needed everybody to have a breakout season,” Weissbourd said, mentioning contributions from Kuld, sophomore Shaun Mansour, Jones, and freshman Dan Schreff. “I was really impressed with how everybody did having to be on their game all the time.”

While the Crimson fell in the first round of the playoffs to George Mason, 3-2, that Harvard was able to persevere and win a share of the league title is a testament to just how much it has achieved this season.

For a volleyball program looking to achieve higher goals, there is no doubt that the foundation for its future has been set.

“We set our goals on winning the Hay Division,” Baise said. “I think the fact that we got a share of the title is really great.”

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.