Men's Volleyball Downs Springfield

One of the best-kept secrets in Harvard sports these days in the men's volleyball team.

With only one loss and 15 wins plus a loyal contingent of fans that make an evening at the MAC more like an Evening at the Improve, Coach Ihsan Gurdal's best team in years is taking New England by storm.

Last night at the MAC, Harvard blew away arch-rival Springfield, 15-4, 10-15, 15-10 and 15-7, the Crimson's first win over Springfield in three years.

"I don't know how long it's been since we've beaten them," Gurdal exulted after the win. "But it's about time."

"This is the match we've been pushing ourselves for all season," senior Brian Jones said. "It's a big payback for us."

The size of the win stunned even Springfield Coach Joel Dearing, whose team was favored coming in.

"Harvard played fantastic," Dearing said. "They're the best team we've played so far. They're well-coached with great serving and blocking, and they made us play poorly." Harvard and Springfield are part of a league of northern New England colleges that field varsity volleyball teams. The top team from the league is awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in April--a bid now almost sure to go in Harvard's direction.

Harvard roared out of the gates with its explosive 15-4 win but let up in the second game and allowed Springfield to find its rhythm.

In the third game, the Crimson tightened up, pushing the score to 9-5 and trading points the rest of the way. Springfield's death throes early in the fourth game featured the most intense volleyball of the night, but Harvard went up 13-3 before coasting to the final 15-7 score.

"We let the pressure off of them and let them in in the second game," Gurdal said. "But I told them to be patient and to do what they had to do, not more."

Harvard travels to face volleyball powers Navy and Princeton this weekend for a set of matches which should be "very, very competitive," according to Co-Captain Cody Church.