Smith Smites Spikers

The Harvard women's volleyball team, now 2-5 on the season, dropped a close five-setter to Smith College Saturday at MIT.

"We are facing the part of the game that all teams need to master consistently," Crimson Coach Wayne Lem said. "Our skills are sound, but we aren't psychologically tough--we're giving up easy points and making stupid mistakes."

In the first set, Smith jumped all over Harvard to open up a 7-1 lead. The Pioneers increased their lead to 14-3 before the spikers made their first respectable run at Smith.

Harvard tallied seven straight points, but eventually succumbed to the Pioneers, 15-10.

Harvard took an early, 7-4 lead in the second set, but Smith fought back to tie the game at 8-8. Both teams traded points until the Pioneers held a 13-12 advantage.

But Harvard's Stephanie Salinas spiked the ball between two Pioneer defenders to tie the match at 13-13. The Crimson used spiking and timely blocking to nab the second set, 15-13.

The third set was a carbon copy of the second--Harvard took a 5-4 lead, but the Pioneers capitalized on Crimson mistakes to take a 13-10 advantage.

A sneaky tip-over by Harvard's Jodi Cassell tied the contest at 13-13, and Manda Schossberger served one down the line to give the spikers a 14-13 lead.

But the Crimson couldn't put the Pioneers away, and Smith won the third set, 16-14.

"We aren't psychologically prepared to beat teams at the crunch time," Lem said. "The talent and dedication is there, but we need the killer instinct when we have a chance to win."

In the fourth set, Harvard scored quickly and took an 8-2 advantage. The Crimson increased its lead to 14-3, but the Pioneers tallied three straight points to cut the deficit to eight.

But Harvard's Suzie Tapson got tired of Smith's scoring streak, and slammed one off a Pioneer defender to give the Crimson a 15-6 victory.

The fifth and deciding set turned into a bad dream for the Crimson when the Pioneers jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Smith's lead increased by nine more, turning the spikers' dream into a nightmare.

Smith scored the last and deciding point with ease, to rout the Crimson for the match and set, 15-0.

"Our serves were really good and our coverage was pretty good," Harvard Captain Maia Forman said. "We lost our concentration in the fifth set."