Crimson Spikers Sweep Through Medford

MEDFORD-Before the beginning of the season, Co-Captain Jodi Cassell said that the Crimson had to defeat the teams that they lost to last year. For the second straight night, they did just that.

The Harvard women's volleyball team improved its record to 10-3 on the year with a 15-10, 15-4, 15-8 victory over Tufts last night here at Jackson Gymnasium, and extended its winning streak to six games.

Harvard's victory over the Jumbos enabled the reborn Crimson squad to surpass its victory total for the last two years combined.

"It took them a little while to get untracked," Harvard Coach Wayne Lem said, "but once they started to put points on the board, they were OK."

However, there was reason to be worried at the start. Tufts opened up a 6-1 lead in the first set, aided by some of what Lem called "mental lapses" by Harvard. A timeout by Lem proved futile as the Jumbos increased its lead to 8-2.

Harvard had battled back to a 9-5 deficit when freshman Carolyn Burger came in for Lee Polikoff, who was playing with a shoulder injury.

The Crimson responded to the change with four unanswered points off of Burger's serves. After Tufts failed to score on its serve, the spikers went ahead when Tapson shanked one off of a Jumbo defender.

"Carolyn did really well," Forman said. "She came in and gave us the spark that we needed."

Lem said that with the insertion of Burger, a setter, he was "opting for more offense." His decision proved to be a wise one as the Crimson scored the last five points of the first set.

Tapson and Manda Schossberger provided the firepower with forceful kills.

In the second set, the Jumbos and their fans were shaken by Harvard's comeback. Led by smashes from Cassell and two aces from Tapson, the spikers jumped out to a commanding 5-0 advantage.

The teams went on to trade points, then Harvard erupted for four in a row and scored seven of the last eight points to coast home in the second set.

Tufts rebounded to take a 2-1 lead in the third set, but the Crimson fought back to take a 4-2 lead.

However, Tufts closed the Crimson's lead to one, 6-5, but the spikers rebounded to take a 10-6 lead. Cassell and Tapson slammed home the kills to complete the victory.

Cassell received the highest accolades from the team, but as Lem pointed out, "Everybody played well."

Harvard was encouraged by the strong play of Burger, and it received the usual stellar performance from Forman.

"Maia was setting awesome tonight," Burger said.

Harvard players criticized Tufts' game plan, or a lack of it.

"They didn't run any plays," Tapson said. "They always set to the outside. They were easy to read."

With the Ivy League opponents coming up next weekend, Lem hopes to make some adjustments. Because of Harvard's lack of height--the starters average 5'6"--Lem is looking to get quicker sets to keep taller opponents flat-footed.

Huskies

Harvard will host Northeastern Tuesday in a previously unannounced match. The Huskies, who recorded a straight set victory over the Crimson in a tri-match held at Boston College, are coming off an upset of Princeton, one of the Ivy League powers.

The Crimson is undaunted by Northeastern's recent successes and is hoping to avenge its defeat at the hands of the Huskies.