M. Volleyball Struggles Against Elite Foes

It was a rough week for the Harvard men's volleyball team as it headed out to the West Coast for spring break for the second consecutive year.

Facing the likes of nationally-ranked UC-Santa Barbara and Long Beach State, the Crimson managed only a 2-4 record for the week.

The Crimson kicked off the trip on Saturday and Sunday with disappointing performances against Cal St.-San Bernardino and La Verne.

"We knew we could be competitive against [Cal St. San Bernardino] and La Verne, because they were pretty much on our level," sophomore co-captain Ed Pankau said. "We just didn't quite play as well as we could against them."

Harvard played the two teams tight, but lost both matches in three straight games--15-10, 15-7, 15-11, and 15-11, 15-7, 15-5.

The Crimson did receive strong play from senior David Olson, who tallied 27 kills and 19 digs over the two matches.

After the weekend matches, Harvard's road did not get any easier, as it took on UC-Santa Barbara, the nation's 11th-ranked team, on Monday.

Harvard ran out to an early lead against UCSB. But Santa Barbara then showed why it is nationally-ranked, as it cruised to a 15-10, 15-7, 15-4 straight-game victory.

The Crimson did receive six kills apiece from senior Jim Rothschild, junior Evan Mager and freshman Brian Stevenson in the loss.

After the tough three matches to start the week, the Crimson regrouped and took on Claremont McKenna and Pomona Pitzer.

Victories were expected against these two club teams, and Harvard did not disappoint, easily defeating Claremont 15-2, 15-9, 15-7 and Pomona 15-7, 15-4, 15-7.

The Crimson then closed out the trip against its toughest opponent of the week--Long Beach State.

Mager and junior co-captain A.J. Lewis collected six and five kills, respectively, against Long Beach, but Harvard was no match for the nation's sixth-ranked team. The Crimson was dealt a 15-3, 15-3, 15-7 straight-game loss.

Although Harvard did not do as well as it would have liked, the road trip was a good learning experience, as well as excellent preparation for the upcoming Ivy League Championships.

"Playing against such good teams really helps to show what are strengths and weaknesses as a team are," Pankau said. "And that is what we are working on in practice now."

Harvard, having narrowly missed out on postseason play, is now focusing solely on Sunday's Ivy Championships.

The team remains optimistic about its chances in the grueling tournament, in which it must play five matches in one day.

In recent years, the championship has turned into a battle between Harvard and Princeton, which was nationally ranked earlier in the year. The Crimson expects this year's tournament to follow suit.

Princeton easily defeated the Crimson in three straight games earlier in the season, so Harvard is looking to exact some revenge.

"When we played Princeton earlier in the season, we really weren't on the top of our game, so they beat us pretty handily," Pankau said. "But this time around we are sure that we can and will win."