Spikers Take a Tough Defeat at MIT, Aim to Bounce Back by Ivy Tourney

The Crimson spikers came to MIT for revenge. And for a while, it seemed they would get it. But the Lady Engineers anticipated the visitors' moves, worked through all of the bugs dealt by the Crimson, and like a finely tuned computer, programmed themselves for their second victory over the Harvard women's volleyball squad in a week.

Harvard's spikers walked away with a sad story to tell. At the start it seemed that everything would go their way. Instead, they netted another loss, bringing their record to 9-10. The Crimson went for five sets with MIT, 15-13, 7-15, 16-14, 13-15, 9-15.

"They are really psyched tonight," Coach Karen Altman said before the match. "I really think they want this one," In warm-ups, the spikers took things seriously, stretching in almost absolute silence. But the Techies remained unphased by the Crimson's determination.

The Lady Engineers, remembering their easy win over Harvard last Saturday, kept their strategy of deep cross-court spikes and heavy blocking at the not. But in Monday's practice, Altman altered the Crimson defense to prepare for MIT's powerful spikes that packed an unforgotten wallop last weekend.

Scoring an unmatched eight points while Linda Lockhart served the ball, the Crimson took a 9-1 lead, MIT Coach David Castanon then pulled out his big guns, Julie Koster, Loni Canty and Janette Kauth, who blocked and spiked to within two points. But the Crimson kept it at that, 13-15.

MIT took control of the second set, as the Crimson seemed forced to play the host's slow paced, methodical game, Matching the All-Ivy setting power of Margaret Cheng, Castanon had two players, Michelle Heng and Amy Smith, who set up what seemed like an endless supply of power hitters.

As Coach Altman noted, "He has a lot of flexibility to work with. At least four players can serve as spikers and back or side hitters." The MIT coach listed eight rotating starters on his 13-women roster. They proved to be too much for the 10-women Crimson, as they took the second set 15-7 after leading throughout.

But the Crimson recovered yet again, jumping to a 7-1 lead. Engineer Koster's spiking tied the score 7-7. The visitors played as if it were the NCAA finals, and when the score chart read 14-14, the Crimson moved to take command, as Cheng served the two winning points. At least MIT seemed a bit rankled. But instead of faltering, the Engineers simply readjusted their machinery, rallying to take the last two sets.

'Despite dropping the crucial fourth and fifth sets, the Crimson showed some of its sharpest play of the season. But in the end, the Crimson seemed to miss the decisive points, and just when the momentum could have turned its way, an MIT player was there to take it away, Net action dominated, as Harvard's Lockhart, Anna Collins, Nina Henderson and Ellen Schreiber went block for block and dink for dink.

"I think we started out winning and let up," Cheng said after the deciding fifth set, "We would come out strong, but like a little gnat always pestering, MIT whittled away our leads."

THE NOTEBOOK: Coach Karen Altman played volleyball at MIT as an undergraduate for Coach Castanon.