Harvard Falters to No. 17 Penn State In Three Sets After Last Night’s Sweeping Victory

The Harvard men’s volleyball team (3-5, 1-1 EIVA) fell 0-3 to No. 17 Penn State (1-7, 1-1 EIVA) on Saturday after crushing the Nittany Lions the day before.

Penn State brought a stronger game in their second matchup against the Crimson in the Malkin Athletic Center, and Harvard was unable to respond.

This time, the Crimson was without its captain as outside hitter Logan Shepard missed the game with an ankle injury. The loss of its captain proved too much for Harvard as Penn State flipped the script from last night and swept the Crimson.

Harvard 0, Penn State 3

In the first point of the game, Harvard established an impenetrable line at the net — returning multiple Penn State swings. Errors, however, plagued the Crimson early in the set, including three of the Nittany Lions first seven points coming from service errors. The service line was one of Harvard’s biggest advantages in the previous game, but a change in strategy by Penn State negated that advantage.

Instead of hitting primarily float serves, the Nittany Lions came out swinging from the line and pounded the Crimson’s returners — keeping the team out of system and on the defense throughout the set. The Penn State lead ebbed and flowed but never subsided as the Nittany Lions took the first set 21-25.

Sophomore outside hitter Owen Woolbert said the Crimson’s win yesterday made the team complacent during today’s game, weakening the start of Harvard's game when Penn State was on its toes already.

“We came out slower than we did yesterday,” Woodward said. “We weren’t really firing on all cylinders like we were yesterday, and they came out with a vengeance after getting swept.”

Harvard started off the second set effectively — leading Penn State by 6-4 and bouncing back from the faults of the first set. Harvard stayed ahead of Penn State into the set before the Nittany Lions mounted a swift recovery, battling the Crimson’s blocks and closing the gap to 20-19.

After back-and-forth rallies for the rest of the set, Harvard failed to overcome Penn State, bringing the Nittany Lions to overtake the Crimson 24-26.

Harvard faltered at the start of the third set, letting up eight points to Penn State before scoring its second. Penn State held a series of firm blocks against the Crimson, stopping most of Harvard’s early attempts for a point.

Harvard bounced back later in the game, and a consistent push for more hitting opportunities fueled hope for a recovery. But the Crimson lost momentum during a final push from Penn State, failing to get power behind the ball as the Nittany Lion brought the final set to a score of 21-25.

Despite the bitter end, it was a successful weekend for Harvard. Penn State was undefeated in the previous season and one of the favorites to win the conference again. The Crimson finished fourth in the five team EIVA last year and are now poised to improve upon that position by taking the crucial game yesterday.

Bishop said yesterday’s victory against Penn State, despite Saturday’s loss, proves the Crimson is prepared to take on the season — and prove formidable in its conference.

“It just shows that we’re able to hang with all the top teams out there, so a lot of confidence going into next week,” Bishop said. “If they’re one of the top teams, I’d say we can compete with any of them.”

Harvard returns to action next Friday, February 14 at conference foe Charleston (3-6, 0-0).

—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at reed.trimble@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.