Men's Volleyball Downs Elis, Green

Frustrated MAC gym rats might just have stumbled in on this one.

Sunday afternoon, time to hit the courts. Time to get in a little running. Time to sweat off the previous night's entertainment.

But last Sunday, it wasn't hoops time. It was better. The Harvard Men's Volleyball team was home for two.

As it turns out, two easy ones. As easy as a A-B-C...1-2-3.

The Crimson played bad hosts to Yale and Dartmouth, decisively taking both matches in three straight games.

"Both teams were not that great," Co-Captain Vince Marin said. "They are not funded by their schools. They're teams that we should beat, and we beat them well."

This was a Mike Tyson type beating. It was over before the opening bell sounded. Knockout for the Johnnies.

Dartmouth fell by a score of 15-9, 15-2, 15-13. Yale fared even worse (to think, they can't beat us in anything, and they live in New Haven), losing 15-11, 15-4, 15-3.

Besides the obvious discrepancies in talent, the key to the weekend was the Crimson's confidence. It smelled a couple of victories and attacked the weakened prey with aggressiveness.

Losses would simply not be accepted. Not to teams of Dartmouth and Yale's caliber.

"We had trouble last week man-handling teams the way we should," Marin said. "This weekend though we were a lot more confident. We went out there and had some fun."

Adding to the fun was the victory over Yale.

Though Yale was a slightly better team than Dartmouth, Harvard dominated the Elis with awesome proficiency.

It was payback time for the seniors. They didn't care that Yale was down. In fact it was all the more reason to kick 'em and kick 'em hard.

"Our freshman year, they beat us all the time," Marin said. "It was very nice to get back at them."

On the weekend, Per Dutton shined the brightest for the blazin' blockers from Cambridge. As middle hitter, he played some of his best ball of the season.

The team effort, though, was especially notable.

To dominate a game, everyone needs to step up, even if the competition is sub-par. Harvard's quickness and blocking abilities simply were too much for Yale and Dartmouth.

"We had a pretty good showing from everyone," Marin said. "We were handling free balls well, and running set plays the way we needed to."

Considering the time of year, the weekend showings were all the more special.

The Crimson is on the verge of capturing an NCAA birth. Tonight Harvard squares off against Springfield at the Malkin Athletic Center. A victory over Springfield would all but guarantee an invitation to the big dance.

Springfield, though, is no Yale or Dartmouth. If the Harvard players want to start dancing, they better bring some sweet music tonight.