Men's Volleyball Falls to No.1 Long Beach State in Three-Game Weekend

Facing any measure of significant opposition and resilience is key for a team to stay competitive and dynamic. The Harvard men’s volleyball team (1-4, 1-0 EIVA) found itself in several of these fierce contests this past weekend. Although the Crimson forced its opposition to earn their victories, it was outplayed by their strength and sheer skill. After falling in straight sets against No.1 Long Beach State at home, Harvard lost in both games of the Morgan Classic.

STEVENSON 3, HARVARD 1

Coming off of two losses, the Crimson walked away disappointed after Saturday night’s performance. Though the game was its closest of the Morgan Classic, Harvard failed to secure the assurance of a hard-fought win. The Mustangs (5-5) demonstrated superior hitting percentages and blocking ability, characteristic of their forceful style. Stevenson proved its capacity to succeed under pressure from a vicious, hungry Harvard squad.

Junior blocker Trevor Dow got off to a fast start with kills and a phenomenal service ace, but the Crimson’s early pushes fell short with the Mustangs winning the first and second set 25-21 and 25-22, respectively.

Sophomore libero Chase Howard had a great showing with 17 digs. Senior captain Riley Moore similarly impressed with a .600 hitting percentage—his third straight match above .500.

Harvard responded effectually to Stephenson’s aggression in the third set. Sophomore hitter Erik Johnsson tallied two kills in a five-point streak to win 25-22. Yet, the Mustangs emerged from the early back and forth of the fourth set with a final set victory of 25-21.

Harvard registered 46 digs and 3 service aces from Dow. It heads into next Friday’s game against Saint Francis (Pa.) with a 1-6 record but ample time to prepare for a win. This will be their second EIVA game of the season.

NEW PALTZ ST. 3, HARVARD 2

In the first round of the Morgan Classic on Friday, the Crimson began formidably, only to lose narrowly to its opposition. New Paltz St. (5-2) retained a fairly successful season thus far, and tactfully played to the length of the match with a solid defensive effort.

Harvard crushed the first set 25-14, only for the Hawks to respond with a 25-14 set of their own. The third set saw back-and-forth trading for the first eight points, and each team had decent streaks leading to a 24-24 tie. New Paltz closed off a kill and attacking error to take the heartbreaking set from the Crimson at 26-24. Clinching the fourth set by capitalizing on several attacking errors and two service aces from senior setter Marko Kostich, Harvard tied the Hawks nine times before succumbing in the fifth set 15-12.

Senior captain Jack Heavey recorded a season-high 11 kills, and Dow accumulated four aces from the service line with nine kills to spark the momentum from early on in the match. Though the stats reveal a stellar performance from the Crimson in nearly every set, New Paltz St. walked away victorious by taking advantage of occasional offensive blunders and persevering through its matchups.

LONG BEACH STATE 3, HARVARD 0

Harvard, who had struggled to gain momentum early in the season, had its work cut out for them on Friday night. Long Beach State (11-0, 0-0 EIVA) is the number one ranked team in the nation, and are undefeated thus far.

Long Beach State looked to put a quick shutout under its belt, but the Crimson kept its errors to four in the last set and made 26 total attempts in a formidable attempt to prevent a shutout. The 49ers put up 13 kills in the second set, with junior TJ DeFalco racking up 8 kills overall. DeFalco has averaged 3.03 kills per set this season. Setter Josh Tuaniga also contributed 22 assists.

The first set saw a .500 hitting percentage for Long Beach State, while Harvard averaged .156.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams we’ve seen all year,” Kostich said. “We were passing well, we were hitting fine, but even we were getting good, clean hits, they were getting everything up. That’s tough to stop.”

The 49ers won the set 25-15, and its players went into the second set with confidence and communication. Taking advantage of Harvard’s eight errors and low hitting percentage of .062, Long Beach State mustered 13 kills.

After another sizeable loss of 25-15 in the second set, the Crimson rebounded to confront Long Beach State’s dominance.

“We started talking much better as a team,” Johnsson said. “We were very quiet in the beginning, and that makes a big difference.”

Johnsson accumulated 7 kills and 21 total attempts. Vigorous communication of the team made a big difference in the effectiveness of both offense and defense in set three. The Crimson cut its errors to 4 and had a .269 hitting percentage.

Nevertheless, the 49ers continued committing to the front of the court, blocking numerous chances for Harvard to win even a single set. Long Beach State won the final set 25-20, having scored 47.5 points overall in comparison to the Crimson’s 38 points.

While the 49ers walked away with a victory, Harvard, too, left with reassurance for later success.

“Before we get into conference play, this is the best competition we can face to prepare ourselves,” Johnsson said. “So even though we took the loss this game, I think we’ll be better in the long run because of it.”