W. Spikers Play Two, Win One

In homage to the great Ernie Banks, the Harvard women's volleyball team played two last night at the Malkin Athletic Center.

But it wasn't nearly as much fun as playing two under the sun in Wrigley Field. In the first day of the Harvard Invitational Tournament, the Crimson defeated Vermont in four grueling games (15-11, 15-13, 10-15, 15-8) and faced off against Princeton immediately afterwards.

The Tigers swept the fatigued Crimson in the second match, 15-1, 15-12, 15-6.

"We were worn out after the first match," Head Coach Jennifer Bates said.

Against Vermont, Harvard played a solid game. It did not dominate the Catamounts; instead, the Crimson essentially kept the ball in play until Vermont made a mistake.

"We did not have a real high percentage of kills to attempts," Assistant Coach Manu Meyer said. "That's why the game went on so long."

None of the Harvard players posted exceptional statistics, but sophomore Jennifer Jose led the Crimson with 15 kills and 5 blocks and junior Judy Irie paced the team with 24 digs.

"I was glad we won, but I think we should have won in three," co-captain Jennifer Garcia said. "If we had played them like we played Princeton in the second, then we would have won in three."

Against the Tigers, the Crimson was overmatched. Fresh off the bus, Princeton used size and aces to overwhelm the tired Harvard squad.

"We couldn't really pass [in that match]," Garcia said. "They had really good servers, and they were also big."

The second game of the Princeton match was the only exciting part for Harvard fans. After losing in the first game 15-1, the Crimson found itself down 12-6 in the second and praying for some momentum.

Achilles Heel

Harvard found some from an unlikely source. Freshman Garyon Kong, a backup spiker playing for the first time at Harvard, went in as a desperation sub.

Kong served, and the Crimson seemed to find the Tigers' Achilles heel.

"[Princeton] started passing bad," Garcia said. "[Kong] gave us confidence."

Kong's first serve fell for an ace between two motionless Tigers. Her next serve was passed into the net. Two serves later, Princeton still couldn't quite solve her serve, and their spike attempts did not even make it over the net.

All of a sudden, the Crimson was only down 12-9 and on a roll. But Kong missed the next serve, and Princeton ended up winning the game shortly afterwards.

After that, the Crimson had no chance, down two games to zero.

Even though Harvard lost by a huge margin, it will play Princeton again next weekend in the Ivy League Championships.

"I think they're beatable," Bates said. "We now know what Princeton's offense is, so we can practice for it."