Men's Volleyball

Saturday at Rutgers, the Harvard men's volleyball team won its regional playoff and advanced to the Final Four of the East.

And if the spikers can prevail over sixth-ranked George Mason next weekend, and then the winner of the Penn St. East Stroudsburg matchup, the Crimson will be headed for UCLA, the national Final Four and national TV.

By crushing Penn in the first round Saturday, 15-4, 15-4 and 15-3, the Crimson advanced to the second round, where they beat the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 15-8, 13-15, 15-4, 15-2.

No Harvard men's volleyball team has ever gone so far. Last year, the spikers lost in the final round of the regionals.

To get to California, the Crimson will face an uphill battle. Early in the year, the spikers lost a one-game contest to George Mason, 15-13, and the Patriots will be seeded first.