Bizarre Calls Mar Spikers' Five-Game Loss to Tigers

PRINCETON, N.J.--It was close right from the beginning.

After a scrappy first-game loss, the Harvard women's volleyball team went down to Princeton in five hard-fought games here at Dillon Gymnasium Saturday, 16-14, 7-15, 15-6, 9-15, 15-9.

"Again, we were inconsistent," Harvard Captain Carolyn Burger said. "We were up and down like we have been throughout the season."

After winning the second and fourth games to force a tie-breaker, Harvard (11-9 overall, 3-3 Ivy) fell behind early in the final game, closed the gap but eventually bowed. Sparked by strong serving from Captain Loren Montgomery, the Tigers (13-2, 5-1) were able to over-power the reeling Crimson.

Burger led the Crimson squad with excellent net play, making several key shots in the last two games to keep Harvard in the match. After Burger regained the serve for Harvard in the deciding game, the difference was closed from five points to 8-6, but Princeton then pulled away.

"We weren't as good blocking at the net as we usually are," Burger said. "We had a little trouble digging the ball out on the defense."

The first game was particularly close, with the teams knotted, 14-14, after nearly 30 minutes of play. Princeton--with only three non-Californians on the squad--eked out the game on a disputed net call.

This was not the only time the head umpire's decisions would be questioned.

In the fourth game, Harvard lost one point after the umpire caught a judge doing paperwork instead of watching the play. After a lengthy protest by Harvard Coach Wayne Lem, the point was replayed and Harvard lost its 11-4 lead and the serve.

Minutes later, Lem protested again when a Princeton point was not replayed after the side judge was again caught unprepared.

Despite the delays and 10 missed serves, Harvard managed to pull off the fourth game by a 15-9 score.

Led by sophomore reserve Mary Kroupa, Harvard proved it could stay with the highly touted Tigers in the second game. In the 15-9 win, Harvard brought out all the facets of its game--combining good defense with great play at the net.

Quaking: An inconsistent Harvard squad dropped a key Ivy League match to Penn Friday, as the Crimson fell apart in the clutch and lost in five games.

Harvard couldn't keep the Quakers at bay, as breakdowns in the Crimson offense allowed Penn to squeak out a victory.

"Our hitting was not up to par, and we were out of sync on the court," outside hitter Kroupa said. "There were several points in the game where we just choked."

The most glaring example was the first game, won by Penn, 16-14. Harvard held a commanding 14-10 lead, but couldn't put the game away, as the Quakers stormed back to win the final six points and the game.

One of the few bright spots for Harvard was the net play of Kroupa and Co-Captain Peri Wallace, who prevented the Quakers from running any plays to the middle.

"We had our moments in the game, especially at the net," outside hitter Kathy Dowling said. "But when it got down to crunch time, we gave the match away."

J.J. Patterson contributed to the reporting of this article.