Bleeding Doesn't Stop for W. Spikers

The Harvard women's volleyball team rolled out the welcome mat for Boston College, Brown and Princeton this weekend, hosting an invitational tournament at the Malkin Athletic Center.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the Eagles, Bears and Tigers spent the whole weekend walking all over that mat.

With four lopsided losses--none of the games were even close--Harvard dropped its overall record to a woeful 3-16 for the season and secured last place for itself in the Ivy League.

The entire tournament, however, was oddly one-sided. Every game--including the final between eventual champion Brown and runner-up Princeton--ended up a blowout.

In the first round, Brown defeated Harvard, 3-0, while Princeton downed BC by the same easy margin.

Sophomore Rachel Heit said this first loss set the tone for the Crimson's weekend.

"[That loss] really frustrated everyone, and really affected our play for the rest of the tournament," Heit said. "Our poor performance overall was really the consequence of problems with our mental game."

Heit is right. Harvard barely managed to put up a fight against its next opponent, falling 3-0 to Princeton, after the Tigers raced to a 14-0 lead in the first game.

Meanwhile, Brown defeated BC in the other match by a score of--yep, you guessed it--3-0.

In the final rotation of the round-robin format tourney, BC did its duty, keeping Harvard's winless streak alive with a 3-0 trouncing of the Crimson, while Princeton upended Brown, 3-0.

The semifinal games held Sunday morning pitted Princeton against Harvard again, and Brown against BC. Both the Tigers and the Bears ran away with 3-0 victories. The two teams met in the finals, with Brown claiming the tournament's title, 3-0.

"We just didn't play very well this weekend," said Co-Captain Michelle Carlo, who was named Ivy Player of the Week despite her team's three losses. "Our serves were off, our blocking needed help and we played a very disorganized game."

"It's really been a hard season," said Assistant Captain Jennifer Bates. "We were juggling line-ups a lot when [starting setter] Jennifer Garcia was out with an injury."

Harvard has only recently welcomed back the services of junior Co-Captain Garcia, although "she and Michelle ran the offense well for Harvard this weekend," Bates said.

Representing the Crimson, Heit, an outside hitter, played well defensively and was consistent throughout the whole tournament, while junior middle blocker Ngozi Ogbunamiri also put on a notable performance at the net for Harvard.

But this week, the Crimson must "realize [it has] a lot to do to prepare for next weekend," Carlo said, referring to the Ivy League Championships to be held here at Harvard.

While regular-season league play determines seeds for the double-elimination tournament, these records mean nothing going into the tournament.

The team that wins the tournament will be handed the Ivy title regardless of its regular season league record. This is nothing less than great news for the Crimson. With a record of 0-7, Harvard finished in last place in the Ancient Eight standings this fall. As a result, Harvard is slated to face top-seeded and traditional Ivy powerhouse Pennsylvania in the first round.

Nevertheless, taking into consideration the double elimination format, Heit feels that a good match--"not even necessarily a win"--could boost the Crimson's morale high enough to do some real damage in the tournament.

"This season has really been a complete confidence struggle," she said. "If we do well in the first match, who knows what could happen?"

"No one deserves a good win more than this team," said Bates. "Hopefully, it will come this weekend."

A Crimson victory is certainly overdue. Harvard's last win was a 3-2 decision against Holy Cross in late September.