M. Volleyball Splits In New York

With its shot at the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) playoffs almost impossible after last weekend's split against Vassar and Southampton, the Harvard men's volleyball team trip to New York City this weekend officially ended that possibility.

Taking on two teams from the Hay Division, Queens and top-ranked NYU, the Crimson (9-7, 5-6 Hay) managed a split by squeezing out a 30-24, 25-30, 27-30, 30-16, 15-10 win over Queens on Friday before getting swept Saturday afternoon, 30-28, 30-25, 32-30, by the Violets.

Against Queens, a team the Crimson had swept only two weeks before at home, Harvard came out energized and dominated the first match, 30-24. The momentum quickly shifted, however, when the Knights (3-13) capitalized on poor Crimson teamwork.

"Our offense struggled in the second and third matches," co-captain Justin Micomonaco said. "Our hitting percentage was pretty low, and we had problems getting from passing to hitting."

With all the offensive troubles, the Crimson dropped the next two sets, 25-30 and 27-30.

After the third set, Harvard gathered itself again and refused to fold to Queens, a team that was riding a six-match losing streak. Harvard's dominance of the first set returned in the last two sets, which the Crimson claimed, 30-16 and 15-10.

Several players stood out in the contest. Freshman setter Russell Mosier had another impressive performance, getting 12 digs and finishing with a stellar .714 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Brian Stevenson, who has come on strong as of late, provided another solid offensive day, getting 22 kills on a .450 hitting percentage.

"Brian's just having a phenomenal season," Micomonaco said. "It's pretty much expected of him. He's carried this team offensively."

Harvard played a remarkably different opponent the next day when it faced off against the NYU Violets, who as of this weekend were the top-ranked Division III team and leaders in the Hay Division of the EIVA.

Earlier in the season the Violets had come up to the Malkin Athletic Center and handed the Crimson a straight-set loss, and Saturday the results were no different.

In the first set, NYU narrowly pulled out the first game, 30-28. Then, in quick fashion, the Violets won the next two sets, 30-25 and 32-30, to finish off the Crimson.

"NYU is in first place in the conference, and we came out flat," Micomonaco said. "We didn't hit well, and we didn't pass well."

The Crimson also had trouble with the Violets' top players. Mike Moser had 11 kills (.667 hitting percentage) and setter Dominic Griffin added 28 assists.

Harvard certainly didn't help itself at all. It finished with a team hitting percentage of 0.029, an abysmal mark for any match. The Crimson had only 31 kills overall for the match and 34 digs.

"At this point we're playing for third or fourth place," Micomonaco said. "We're going to try to finish out this season and really play for the young guys who will be back next year."

The next stop for the volleyball team is California for spring break, where the Crimson will face Southern California, Cal Baptist and La Verne.