Spikers Ground Eagles

The Harvard men's volleyball team defeated Boston College in four sets to notch its first road victory Monday night.

The Crimson (2-5), avenging an early-season loss to the Eagles, characteristically started off slowly. Harvard fell behind, 7-0, before starting a run that closed the Eagle lead to one, 8-7. The game seesawed, but the Crimson--showing unusual persistence--put the game away, 17-15.

Harvard's momentum faltered in the second game as the Eagles' outside hitters overcame a shaky Crimson defense to prevail, 15-9.

Coach Ihsan Gurdal changed his strategy in the crucial third game. Instead of relying on his starters, Gurdal substituted frequently, replacing his middle hitters with stronger servers and passers when they rotated to the back row. The Crimson pulled out to a sizable lead and never let the Eagles climb back in, taking the game, 15-7.

The fourth set was perhaps the finest set of volleyball that Harvard has played all season.

"We got a little emotional," outside hitter Martin Valasek said.

The Crimson responded to taunts from several BC players by running out to a huge lead and snuffing several Eagle attempts to come back. Middle blocker Brian Ehrlich ended the game and the match with three successive stuffs at the net.

"It was a solid team effort, a lot of guys came off the bench and did a great job," Valasek said.