Men's Volleyball Splits Pair of Weekend Matches

Heading into this weekend’s action, the Harvard men’s volleyball team had played exactly two matches lasting more than three sets—one against No. 2 Lewis to open the season and another against Sacred Heart to open EIVA competition.

This weekend, the Crimson doubled this total with away matches against Princeton and NJIT. After falling to the Tigers in a four-setter, No. 13 Harvard bounced back with a tight 3-1 victory over the Highlanders.

“They were tight games,” co-captain Caleb Zimmick said. “There’s a lot of parity [in the league]. Every night we’re going to have to bring it.”

HARVARD 3, NJIT 1

Nineteen hours after a dispiriting loss to Princeton, a longtime EIVA titan, the Crimson was locked in a battle with a less-expected rival.

NJIT, who entered the contest without a conference victory, took the first set, 26-24, and traded the lead throughout the second with the Crimson. But with Harvard clutching a 23-22 advantage, the Highlanders undid themselves. A missed serve and an attack error lost the game for NJIT.

The Crimson took it from there. Co-captain D.J. White and junior outside hitter Branden Clemens combined for 31 kills, and Harvard rolled back the Highlanders, 3-1, in Newark, N.J.

“We were passing better,” Clemens said. “In the first set, that was the weak point, and that may have been the reason we dropped the first set. On the whole, I think today was a lot cleaner play.”

The drama was not contained to the second set, as the final two games were decided by the smallest possible margins. In the third set, an exchange of kills ended with a 25-23 Crimson victory; in the fourth set, freshman middle blocker Brad Gretsch racked up a kill and then a block assist to cement a 26-24 win.

Gretsch’s rejection encapsulated the excellence of the Harvard defense against NJIT. Led by five block assists by Zimmick, the visitors put up 17 blocks, compared to 11 by the Highlanders.

The largest lead in the game was six, which the Crimson held midway through the fourth set. Although NJIT came back to tie the game at 24, the Highlanders conceded the next two points and the match.

“It was just hanging tough,” Zimmick said. “Tonight we got the kills when we needed to and converted when we needed to whereas against Princeton we didn’t.”

PRINCETON 3, HARVARD 1

A six-two run. A five-one run. A four-one run.

These were the streaks that the Tigers used to win the second, third, and fourth sets, respectively as the Princeton ability to show up in the biggest moments proved decisive in a 3-1 Harvard loss at Dillon Gym.

The most significant run occurred with the Crimson holding a 25-24 lead in the fourth set and the chance to force a fifth set. Instead, five points later, Harvard was walking out of the gym defeated.

The final result overshadowed a fine performance from White, who recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.

“D.J.’s a great player, so it doesn’t surprise me,” Zimmick said “He runs a really fast net, which is advantageous in terms of beating the block to the ball.”

Six of White’s finishes came in the first game, which the Crimson took, 26-24. In this case, it was Harvard that mounted an efficient eight-two run to drop the Tigers.

On the night, Princeton out-blocked the Crimson 16 to six. Cody Kessel, who recorded six block assists to complement a game-high 22 kills, led the hosts in the category.

In the third set, Kessel scored five kills as the Tigers came back from a 15-11 deficit. The game remained close until 21-all, when Princeton won the game with four straight points.

“I don’t think it was a lack of focus or ability,” Zimmick said. “It was just not being able to complete points…. We had enough chances, and we just weren’t able to close.”