M. Volleyball Sweeps Roger Williams

It wasn't another St. Valentine's Day massacre, or even a blowout, for that matter, but the Harvard men's volleyball team hosted Roger Williams University last night and, in contrast to what the final 3-0 tally might indicate, it eked out a victory by the narrowest of margins.

It was a quality win nonetheless, as it restored the Crimson (4-1, 1-1 Hay) to its winning ways. Making it even sweeter was that it came against Harvard's top rival in the Odeneal division last year.

Before the match, Havard Coach Tom Wilson set three goals for his squad: to serve agressively, to pass off the serve better, and to quicken the team's blocking speed to counteract the Hawks' team speed.

In addition, he stressed that the newly instated rally-scoring system would increase the pace of the game, and allow the team with the greater side-out percentage to win.

The Crimson players entered the match with the memory of the weekend's 3-0 loss to Vassar fresh on their minds, but quickly turned their focus to the task at hand, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead. Conspicuously absent from the Harvard lineup, though, was freshman phenom Juan Carlos Cardet, who was benched for the first game for arriving late to a team meeting.

Before long, Roger Williams awoke and the teams essentially traded points for some time, with the Hawks successfully preventing Harvard from extending its lead but failing to cut into it significantly, either. Contributing to the Hawks' relative success were several service errors committed by Crimson players attempting jump serves in accordance with the first of Coach Wilson's goals.

With Roger Williams down 29-27 and facing game point, Crimson sophomore middle blocker Alex Kowell sent a jump serve long, giving Roger Williams a point and the serve. After a Harvard timeout, however, the Hawks committed a line violation, allowing the few fans in attendance to mark down the first game for the Crimson.

The second game proved to be even closer than the first, as it featured eleven ties and five lead changes. The pattern was established straight from the outset, with the two teams exchanging points on each other's serves to 5-5. Roger Williams then took its first lead of the match at 6-5, but Harvard ran off three straight points to take an 8-6 advantage.

After more back-and-forth play, the Hawks took three straight points of their own to draw within one at 12-11, but Harvard exactly matched the Roger Williams run, forcing the Hawks to take a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Roger Williams received a point off a long jump serve by Kowell and, after a Harvard tally, notched five points in a row to take a 17-16 lead. From there, no more than one point separated the teams until Harvard reeled off three consecutive scores to move ahead, 24-21, forcing another Roger Williams timeout.

This one, however, did not prove nearly as effective as the Crimson extended its run to four. The Hawks were only able to gain two back before the teams again began trading points on each other's serve, in a sequence that included an impressive show of finesse when a Roger Williams player deftly tipped the ball over two would-be Harvard blockers to score.

Finally, at 29-26, crowd favorite Cardet, who had returned from his first-game exile, served out the game for the Crimson.

Continuing the trend of the match, the third game was even tighter than the first two. It began with a service error by each team, the second of which, commited by the Crimson, sparked a four-point Roger Williams run. After two Harvard tallies, the Hawks ran off three more points, prompting Harvard to call a timeout in an attempt to regain some momentum.

During the timeout, Coach Wilson simply reminded his team to play its game and do what it had practiced.

Apparently, the Harvard players took his advice to heart, as they came out of the timeout with a vengeance, reeling off a 7-1 run to take a 10-8 lead. Roger Williams answered with its own four-point burst before the game returned to its characteristic back-and-forth style.

Later on, trailing 18-15, Harvard ran off a three-point stretch featuring kills by Cardet and junior co-captain Justin Denham (20 kills). However, Roger Williams answered with five straight points broken up only by a Harvard timeout before the Crimson players fought their way back into the match with a four-point streak of their own to bring themseleves within one at 23-22. After two sets of consecutive points by the Hawks separated by a Harvard tally, the Crimson trailed 27-23 and its prospects for taking the third game looked bleak.

A kill by Cardet, however, energized the crowd and pulled the Crimson back within three. Unfortunately, his ensuing serve went into the net, giving Roger Williams back its four-point advantage. Luckily for the Crimson, Kowell came through with a kill and four successful serves to give Harvard match point at 29-28.

After a Roger Williams timeout, the Hawks scored back-to-back points to take the lead, but another Kowell kill brought the Crimson back even. The Crimson then gained another match point, which Roger Williams was able to save. It was then the Hawks' turn to have a chance at the game, but a Denham kill tied the score at 32. Harvard then earned its third match point, but Kowell hit a jump serve long. Next, Cardet notched yet another kill to give the Crimson yet another shot at the match, but the Hawks once more managed to remain in the contest.

The teams traded points to 35-34, Harvard, but a Denham serve into the net prolonged the match and heightened the tension in the Malkin Athletic Center. The Hawks then earned another game point, but two Harvard tallies gave the Crimson its sixth match point, on which Cardet served long, tying the score at 37. Finally, Harvard was able to score two more points to close out the match, 39-37.

Following the match, Coach Wilson expressed his pleasure at the team's accomplishment of his first two goals, citing senior outside hitter Auden Velasquez and senior Co-Captain Justin Micomonaco as having passed well and also acknowledging the latter's defensive work (9 digs). As for his third objective, however, Coach Wilson noted that the team struggled close to the antenna. He was, though, encouraged by the team's comeback victory in the third game.

Denham also seemed happy with the team's persistence in the third game, observing that playing while behind was something the squad had worked on during practice. He also complimented the play of Cardet--ten kills in two games for a .600 hitting percentage--whom he described as athletic and exciting, with skills that have improved noticeably since the team started practicing full-time.

Also aiding the team greatly were standout performances by senior Brian Stevenson, who had 16 kills, and sophomore setter Mike Bookman, who notched an impressive 48 assists and 11 digs.

Following this key win, the men's volleyball team hopes to continue its quest for the EIVA Hay Division title this weekend, when it travels to East Stroudsberg on Saturday and St. Francis on Sunday. There, only one thing is certain--the games won't be much closer than Wednesday's.