Men's Volleyball Splits Weekend Against Ranked Opponents

A week after falling to Springfield in a tortuous tiebreaker, the Harvard men’s volleyball team returned to campus for the start of EIVA conference play.

There was not much comfort in this homecoming: On Friday night, the Crimson hosted No. 7 Penn State, winner of 17 straight league titles, and on Saturday night, it hosted No. 15 St. Francis.

Exactly half of this competition went according to plan. In a sweep loss to the Nittany Lions (7-2, 2-0 EIVA), Harvard played perhaps its worst volleyball of the season, while in a sweep win over the Red Flash (5-6, 0-3), the team played perhaps its best.

HARVARD 3, NO. 15 ST. FRANCIS 0

“Branden [Clemens] was virtually unstoppable tonight,” Crimson coach Brian Baise said. “He’s been that way all season.”

Indeed, facing an 0-2 start to conference play, captain and outside hitter Clemens put on a remarkable performance, leading all players with 19 kills and a .708 blocking percentage.

He received help from several teammates, especially sophomore outside hitter Brad Gretsch (13 finishes), and Harvard (4-5, 1-1 EIVA)cruised to a 3-0 triumph while hitting .494.

In the second set, however,that result threatened to unravel.

The Crimson clung to a 22-21 lead when junior outside hitter Casey White smashed a serve into the net and yelled out a curse. Two points later, freshman middle blocker Trevor Dow repeated the mistake—albeit more quietly—to knot the match at 23-23.

Clemens and sophomore setter Marko Kostich averted the disaster with back-to-back kills, claiming the set and the momentum.

The same duo was hard at work in the third game, as Clemens put up seven finishes and Kostich recorded 18 assists. A mid-frame 5-1 run gave the hosts breathing room, and Harvard hung on for a 25-20 victory.

Sophomore outside hitter Brandon Buck led St. Francis with 13 finishes, but he could not prevent the Red Flash from dropping to the league cellar after its third EIVA loss.

The Crimson’s domination began early in the night, as the hosts raced to an 11-5 lead. That quick start culminated in a 25-19 game win.

“We came out wanting to fight,” Clemens said. “Getting swept by Penn State will definitely get some fire in your belly.”

HARVARD 0, NO. 7 PENN STATE

The set score might say differently, but on Friday night, only a few points separated Harvard from a sloppy upset over the Nittany Lions.

Consider the second set: Down 17-13, the Crimson had clawed back to take a 21-20 lead. Over 400 people had made it to the home opener, and that crowd buzzed with new expectation of a grind-and-grit finale.

Instead, Penn State took the next five points to claim the frame. The crowd settled into silence.

A frame later, the hosts boasted a 19-18 lead after powering ahead on an early 6-0 run.

But the Nittany Lions responded in formulaic fashion, using a five-point streak to take control. Although Harvard fought back with a pair of points, the night ended on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Chris Nugent. Game score: 25-21.

In contrast to the efficient offense against St. Francis, the Crimson put up a .179 hitting percentage. Clemens, who had racked up double-digit kill totals in his last 17 matches, accumulated one finish and three errors.

“Penn State, they have a great coach, and they’re really smart,” Clemens said. “They scouted well…. I really couldn’t get in a rhythm.”

Despite that difficulty, Harvard opened play by building a 12-6 first-set advantage. The Nittany Lions scratched back to tie the score at 23-23, and then a pair of errors—one by White and one by Clemens—handed Penn State the set.

Nugent, the Nittany Lions’ leader in kills, topped all players with 19. Gretsch led the Crimson with nine.

“Penn State is a really good team, but I felt like we made them look better,” Baise said. “Our side of the net was not the team we usually are.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sdanello@college.harvard.edu.