W. Volleyball Wins 1 of 3 in Classic

The Harvard women's volleyball team took Manhattan.

But it could not quite get past Pittsburgh or St. John's in the Harvard Classic held this past weekend at the Malkin Athletic Center.

"It was a little bit of a disappointing weekend," co-captain Kate Nash said.

The disappointment came from two matches the Crimson (3-8, 0-0 Ivy) lost to Big East schools--two matches the team feels it could have won.

"We expected to win both matches," Nash said, "It just didn't happen for us."

Pittsburgh 3, Harvard 1

On Friday the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-5, 0-0 Big East) rolled in confident about victory.

In the first game, Harvard made Pittsburgh think twice.

After Harvard led 7-6, sophomore outside hitter Angela Lutich served up two aces and sophomore middle hitter Katherine Hart blocked a Panther kill to extend the lead to 10-6.

A Pittsburgh timeout did little to quell the Crimson attack as the Panthers could only manage one point before senior co-captain Melissa Forcum ended the game with a kill.

The Pittsburgh, a huge team with eight players at least six-feel-tall, started to turn things around in the second game.

The Crimson kept it close throughout, forcing ties at 11 and 12.

The Panthers pulled ahead, however on two failed Harvard kill attempts--one long and one blocked. Six sideouts later, the Panthers scraped together a point to win the second game 15-12.

The third game opened with two quick Harvard points but Pittsburgh soon ran off six unanswered points. Pittsburgh extended its lead to 9-3 and 12-4 before Harvard pulled itself together. PITTSBURGH  3 HARVARD  1 MANHATTAN  0 HARVARD  3 ST. JOHN'S  3 HARVARD  2

At 14-7, facing game point, the Crimson managed a three-point rally that included kills by Forcum and Hart, but a Pittsburgh kill closed out the game, 15-10, and gave the Panthers a 2-1 match lead.

In the fourth game, Harvard could not stop Pittsburgh's towering front line.

Ten straight points by Pittsburgh, mostly on kills, crushed any chance of recovery.

Harvard managed just five points for the rest of the game, losing 15-5 on another Pittsburgh kill.

Forcum and Lutich led the Crimson offense with 17 and kills, respectively. The pair also served up three aces each.

The huge Panther team was not something new to the Crimson.

"We've played big teams before," Nash said. "As long as we can diversify our offense, we can be successful."

Harvard 3, Manhattan 0

On Saturday morning, Manhattan (2-14, 0-0 MAC) proved to be not the foe that Pittsburgh was.

Opening with a 15-9 game victory, Harvard managed 18 kills to Manhattan's 16.

In the second game, the Crimson defeated the Lady Jaspers 15-8 and again out-killed them, this time 16-13.

Coach Jennifer Weiss, perhaps sensing a strong Crimson finish, decided to play everyone on the team.

"All 14 of us were in there," Nash said.

In the third and final game, the Lade Jaspers gave the Crimson a run for its money, but ultimately fell 15-12. Manhattan did register 22 kills to Harvard's 17 in the final game, however.

Lutich totaled 18 kills to Harvard's and 15 digs and freshman middle hitter Erin Denniston added 12 kills.

The win snapped Harvard's six match losing streak which dated back to the team's trip to California two weekends ago.

St. John's 3, Harvard 2

In an attempt to start a new streak in the positive direction, Harvard took to the court against the St. John's Red Storm (9-7, 0-0 Big East) later Saturday afternoon.

In the first game, the Crimson forced ties at two, three, five, seven and nine points before the Red Storm ran off six points to close out the game.

The second game was more of the same, with Harvard pulling even at nine points and managing two more before St. John's closed out the match.

Harvard began feeling more confident about its play as the match progressed, a fact that became evident in the third game.

After the Red Storm jumped to a 6-2 lead, the Crimson earned five straight points, including two Forcum kills and a Lutich ace.

St. John's would not lead again in the game as Harvard won 15-10.

In the fourth game, the Crimson jumped out to a 5-0 lead, a rally that included an ace by senior Kristen Priscella and a monster kill by Denniston.

The Crimson led 7-3 and 10-5 before going up 14-9. The Red Storm won two more points before Harvard won and evened the match score at two.

The deciding fifth game was played using rally scoring, a system that awards a point on every play, regardless of which team serves the ball.

Harvard quickly fell behind as St. John's began to gel. The only tie in the game was at 3-3 and the Red Storm jumped to leads of 10-4 and 14-6.

The Crimson refused to go quietly, however and fought for three more points including a clutch kill by Denniston.

"Its fun to step up and play at this level," Denniston said.

St. John's called a timeout, and on the next point, a Harvard player committed a net violation, giving St. John's the victory.

"This was the third match where we've had to go into the fifth game," Nash said. "We were a bit tentative. We were a little more passive than they were."

Denniston felt the match was exciting, but not as exciting as a win would have been.

"It was a positive feeling because we came back, but at the same time, it wasn't," she said.

Lutich and Forcum both tallied 22 kills and Lutich added 21 digs. Nash assisted on 62 points.

Harvard takes to the court at home again Wednesday against New Hampshire, hoping to stop the current losing streak at on.

At 14-7, facing game point, the Crimson managed a three-point rally that included kills by Forcum and Hart, but a Pittsburgh kill closed out the game, 15-10, and gave the Panthers a 2-1 match lead.

In the fourth game, Harvard could not stop Pittsburgh's towering front line.

Ten straight points by Pittsburgh, mostly on kills, crushed any chance of recovery.

Harvard managed just five points for the rest of the game, losing 15-5 on another Pittsburgh kill.

Forcum and Lutich led the Crimson offense with 17 and kills, respectively. The pair also served up three aces each.

The huge Panther team was not something new to the Crimson.

"We've played big teams before," Nash said. "As long as we can diversify our offense, we can be successful."

Harvard 3, Manhattan 0

On Saturday morning, Manhattan (2-14, 0-0 MAC) proved to be not the foe that Pittsburgh was.

Opening with a 15-9 game victory, Harvard managed 18 kills to Manhattan's 16.

In the second game, the Crimson defeated the Lady Jaspers 15-8 and again out-killed them, this time 16-13.

Coach Jennifer Weiss, perhaps sensing a strong Crimson finish, decided to play everyone on the team.

"All 14 of us were in there," Nash said.

In the third and final game, the Lade Jaspers gave the Crimson a run for its money, but ultimately fell 15-12. Manhattan did register 22 kills to Harvard's 17 in the final game, however.

Lutich totaled 18 kills to Harvard's and 15 digs and freshman middle hitter Erin Denniston added 12 kills.

The win snapped Harvard's six match losing streak which dated back to the team's trip to California two weekends ago.

St. John's 3, Harvard 2

In an attempt to start a new streak in the positive direction, Harvard took to the court against the St. John's Red Storm (9-7, 0-0 Big East) later Saturday afternoon.

In the first game, the Crimson forced ties at two, three, five, seven and nine points before the Red Storm ran off six points to close out the game.

The second game was more of the same, with Harvard pulling even at nine points and managing two more before St. John's closed out the match.

Harvard began feeling more confident about its play as the match progressed, a fact that became evident in the third game.

After the Red Storm jumped to a 6-2 lead, the Crimson earned five straight points, including two Forcum kills and a Lutich ace.

St. John's would not lead again in the game as Harvard won 15-10.

In the fourth game, the Crimson jumped out to a 5-0 lead, a rally that included an ace by senior Kristen Priscella and a monster kill by Denniston.

The Crimson led 7-3 and 10-5 before going up 14-9. The Red Storm won two more points before Harvard won and evened the match score at two.

The deciding fifth game was played using rally scoring, a system that awards a point on every play, regardless of which team serves the ball.

Harvard quickly fell behind as St. John's began to gel. The only tie in the game was at 3-3 and the Red Storm jumped to leads of 10-4 and 14-6.

The Crimson refused to go quietly, however and fought for three more points including a clutch kill by Denniston.

"Its fun to step up and play at this level," Denniston said.

St. John's called a timeout, and on the next point, a Harvard player committed a net violation, giving St. John's the victory.

"This was the third match where we've had to go into the fifth game," Nash said. "We were a bit tentative. We were a little more passive than they were."

Denniston felt the match was exciting, but not as exciting as a win would have been.

"It was a positive feeling because we came back, but at the same time, it wasn't," she said.

Lutich and Forcum both tallied 22 kills and Lutich added 21 digs. Nash assisted on 62 points.

Harvard takes to the court at home again Wednesday against New Hampshire, hoping to stop the current losing streak at on.