B.C. Eagles Sink Spikers in Straight Sets

The Harvard men's volleyball team dropped its home opener to Boston College in straight sets, 15-5, 16-14, 16-14, last night at the Malkin Athletic Center.

"We played poorly as a team and our blocking and passing were subpar tonight," sophomore setter Henry Chang said.

B.C. played consistently and the Crimson seemed a bit lethargic as the Eagles cruised to an easy 15-5 win in the first game. The Crimson was unable to mount a credible rally as BC got its momentum early and never slowed down.

In the second game, the spikers pulled out to a 7-2 lead working with a well-balanced 5-1 lineup. Boston College rallied with a four-point spurt and came back to trail by only one, 7-6. Harvard, with its front line hitting and blocking steadily, seemed on the brink of victory when it served for match, point at 14-11.

But the Eagles staved off defeat twice, and the Crimson momentum faltered. B.C. rallied for five unanswered points to take the match, 16-14.

Back and Forth

In game three, Coach Ihsan Gurdal chose to go with a bigger lineup to try to take advantage of the smaller, quicker Boston College squad. The score went back and forth with numerous side-outs as both teams struggled to gain the upper hand.

Harvard pulled out to a 7-5 lead, but Boston College rallied to tie the score at 8-8. Then the Eagles took control of the game, and went up by four, 12-8.

Gurdal used substitutions more sparsely than in the first two games, and staked the match on the Crimson's height advantage.

Harvard rallied to within two points, 12-10, and valiantly fought back from the brink of elimination with several saves at match point. The Crimson brought its play up a notch, and several B.C. miscues helped Harvard knot the score at 14-14.

But the Eagles took the next two points to seal the game and the match.

"B.C. didn't play very well tonight, but they played well enough to win," Chang said.

The Crimson is currently 1-3 in match play having gone 1-2 at the NJIT Tournament in New Jersey last weekend. Gurdal is still looking to put together a starting nucleus of six or seven players--he used different combinations in all three games, with the smaller, quicker line-up putting forth the strongest effort.

Gurdal used the taller, 5-1 lineup exclusively in the third game, but to no avail. The combination was ineffective as Boston College exploited the slower Crimson squad with selective hitting and blocking.

B.C. won the match with well placed hits, and consistently found holes in the Harvard defense.

Harvard travels to Springfield on Saturday for its next match.