Unheralded E. Nazarene Ambushes Spikers, 3-1

You've probably never heard of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass.

The Harvard women's volleyball team wishes it never had, either.

The Crimson travelled to face the Crusaders, who sported an impressive 33-7 record gained against such Eastern foes as Northeastern, Tufts, and Brown.

Eastern Nazarene had proven its force earlier in the season when it stretched MIT to three games in a best-of-three match. The Engineers crushed the Crimson in three consecutive games last week.

The hosts also toted in a big incentive to win, as they needed a victory to clinch a spot in their divisional invitational tournament. For the visitors, it was nothing more than another tune-up for next weekend's Ivy Tournament.

When the dust had cleared, the Crimson (now 9-8) had been conquered 15-8, 4-15, 15-13, 16-14.

The Crusaders started off strong in the best-of-five match Led by Lynn Norman and Captain Kim Cubic, they roared to a 15-8 first game victory.

The Crimson came right back, riding excellent front-line blocking to a 15-4 second game victory. From then on, though, it was pure heartbreak for the spikers.

The visitors were right in each of the final two games until the last shot and fallen, but came up short in each.

THE NOTEBOOK: Only two games remain for Harvard before, the Ivy tournament. The spikers travel to Dartmouth today and then return to host the University of Connecticut Tuesday.