Huskies Spike, Kill W. Volleyball

The Harvard women's volleyball players can spike, dig, set, and serve--but you can't expect them to work miracles.

The injury-depleted Crimson suffered a hard-fought, five game loss (6-15, 15-6, 16-14, 8-15, 9-15) against the Northeastern Huskies at Cabot Gym last night. With three starters sidelined by injuries, the Crimson was unable to keep up with the Huskies' strong defense and brilliant execution.

Senior outside hitter and co-captain Melissa Forcum led the Crimson (7-18, 4-3 Ivy League) with 15 kills and 12 digs. Junior outside hitter Linda Jellison, continuing her comeback from an injury-plagued season, contributed to the Harvard attack with 10 kills. Senior co-captain and setter Kate Nash added 19 digs and 34 assists for the Crimson.

For the Huskies (24-7, 6-3 America East), sophomore outside hitter Jessica Knott, last year's America East Rookie of the Year, played a tremendous game, chalking up 14 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Elizabeth Waclawik and freshman outside hitter Kristin Deatherage both added 12 kills apiece.

In the first game, the Huskies immediately jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but a kill by Forcum stopped the Crimson bleeding. Net violations by the Huskies and a critical kill by Jellison cut the Huskies' lead to 9-4, but kills by Northeastern's Catherine Baker and Knott sealed the Crimson's fate. The Huskies went on to win the first game 15-6.

The Crimson dominated the second game. Harvard surged ahead to a 10-2 lead from a strong defense and well-executed plays by Forcum and Jellison. Northeastern continued to hit the ball out of bounds time and time again, allowing the Crimson to take the second game 15-6.

The Crimson's efforts climaxed during the third game. Both teams managed to play superb defense and covered the entire floor, executing highlight-reel quality plays. The Crimson led 6-1 early in the game, but the Huskies battled back with an ace by setter Lisa Mazzotta, knotting the game at six apiece. The Crimson then jumped ahead with key kills by Forcum and digs by Nash, but the Huskies soon cut the Crimson lead to 14-12. Fortunately for Harvard, a kill by Jellison forced game-point, and the Huskies' Lisa Nolan set the ball into the net, resulting in a 16-14 Crimson victory in the third game.

The Crimson's batteries began to wind down in Game 4. Two kills by Forcum and an ace by setter Julie Yick contributed to an early 7-4 Harvard lead, but two balls hit long by Forcum opened the window of opportunity for the Huskies. Northeastern went on to score eight unanswered points until a kill by Harvard's Anne Schafer cut the Huskies' lead to 12-8. However, the Huskies continued to capitalize on Harvard's miscues and won the fourth game 15-8.

An ace by Harvard senior Catherine Betti portended a promising start to the fifth game for the Crimson, but fatigue soon set in. Decisive kills by Knott and Deatherage sapped the Crimson's energy and permanently took away its momentum. An ace by Nash tied the game at five all, but Harvard never saw the lead again. Northeastern went on to win the fifth game, 15-9.

The five-game loss was extremely frustrating for the Crimson, who is now riding a four-game losing streak and coming to the end of a disappointing season.

"We had a lot of momentum, and to lose Game 4 after winning Games 2 and 3 was really tough," Nash said. "It would have been a big win for us tonight, and we were looking for that to use as a jumping-off point for this weekend and the Ivy League tournament."

"We did a nice job in coming back to win two games, but the momentum just changed," said Harvard coach Jennifer Weiss.

Weiss stated that injuries to starters Angela Lutich, Katherine Hart, and Erin Denniston were the root of the Crimson's frustration last night.

"There's just a different chemistry," Weiss said. "There are three starters who are out, and that's already 50 percent of your team."

The Crimson can, however, dig up a few small victories out of this defeat. First, the Harvard front line was greatly bolstered tonight by the return of Jellison to the lineup. On the road to a full recovery, she racked up 10 kills and six digs for the night.

"[The injury] has been okay," Jellison said. "It's been an adjustment because I play a different position now than I did before I left, but it hasn't been too bad."

Furthermore, Harvard can take comfort in the gutsy effort that it put in despite the injuries to the team. The Crimson was able to hang on to force a fifth game after losing the first game, a trend that has escaped them this season.

"If we're getting to five games with the injuries, then that definitely means that we're out there doing a great job," Nash said. "Physically, we could have beaten that team because we beat them in Games 2 and 3."

The Crimson will next play in the Harvard Invitational this weekend.