Spikers Take One, Drop Two

The Harvard men's volleyball team inaugurated its season by losing to Princeton and Penn in the New Jersey Institute of Technology (N.J.I.T.) Tournament, but salvaged the last match against Cornell.

The Crimson lost the opening match against defending Ivy League champion Princeton in straight sets, 15-6, 15-6, but picked up the pace in a close loss to the Quakers, 15-8, 15-13. In the last match, the Crimson edged out Cornell, 15-13, in the first game and, taking advantage of momentum and the Big Red's disorganization, won the second game and the match decisively, 15-4.

"We played solidly, taking into consideration that this was the first tournament of the season," Captain John Waskom said.

Waskom feels that the team, having lost only one senior to graduation, has great potential this year. The Crimson tried a lot of different combinations in the three matches, trying to build a nucleus of eight or nine players who will anchor the team.

Coach Ihsan Gurdal, in his seventh season as coach of the varsity volleyball team, said the talent gap between players is not very large--the reason for the frequent substitutions in the tournament.

"The team is very athletic, though a bit raw," Gurdal said. "However, with practice, we can be a very solid team. I am trying to build a solid working unit right now."

This year, the Crimson will be led by veteran setters Henry Chang and senior Julio Toro.

This will also be the biggest team Coach Gurdal will have on the court since 1982. Usually averaging under 6-ft. tall, the Crimson averages just over 6-ft., 1-in. this season with the addition of several tall (6-ft., 4-in.) middle hitters and blockers.