Talented M. Volleyball Finds Strong Ending

Entering the season, the Harvard men’s volleyball team believed it could beat any team on its schedule. After winning seven of its last eight matches—and making a valiant surge toward the playoffs—the team had proved its point.

Despite having the talent to be competitive in its first two seasons of Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Hay Division play, the Crimson underachieved, posting two losing campaigns. However, under first-year coach Rob Keller, Harvard fought its way to an 10-6 mark this year, finishing with an 8-4 division record.

“It’s the most talented team we’ve ever had here at Crimson volleyball,” Keller said.

Harvard opened its season at home with a dominating performance, defeating Rivier 3-0. It then rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Sacred Heart at home only to find itself on the short end of a disputed call late in the fifth game, resulting in a 3-2 loss.

“The match [against Sacred Heart] showed that we really had not hit our peak playing shape,” tri-captain Mike Bookman said. “To close out matches like that...requires a kind of sharpness that we simply had not found at that early point in the season.”

Harvard then thumped MIT 3-0 before embarking on a four-game road trip that opened with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Queens College.

The rest of the swing was brutal to the Crimson, which fell 3-0 to key Hay opponent Vassar, 3-1 to Concordia and 3-1 to Princeton. A return home was not the answer, as the team was soundly defeated by Springfield College—last year’s Division III national champions.

“Our offensive production was good but we had problems defensively,” Bookman said. “And that’s a sign of a young and inexperienced team. The leap from high school to Division I college volleyball is enormous. The game is much faster, so it is normal to expect those kinds of weaknesses to crop up.”

The four-game winless streak, which included two losses to Hay opponents, left Harvard with a 3-5 record, including a disappointing 1-3 division mark. The players felt that the team lacked a sense of urgency.

All signs pointed to another year of EIVA mediocrity. However, Keller addressed the consistency of his team’s play and attempted to restore a sense of confidence in the Crimson.

“When we come to play ball, we’re the best team on the court,” he said.

Keller rallied the troops the following weekend with a rousing pre-game speech that spurred Harvard to defeat NJIT 3-0 and Vassar 3-2.

“[The speech] was inspiring,” Bookman said. “He told us that he could see on our faces the daily grind of being a student-athlete. We were going about it all wrong, he said. We needed to enjoy ourselves, have fun and relish the fact that we get to play Division I volleyball and go to Harvard. For a young coach to be able to rally and inspire his players to such success is a testament to the great things he did for the program this year.”

The win over Vassar was the first for Harvard tri-captains Alex Kowell and Bookman. More importantly, the crucial victory gave Harvard a legitimate shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

Following the upset of Vassar, the Crimson visited Springfield and almost pulled an even bigger upset, taking the Hay power to five games before falling 3-2.

At 5-6 overall and at 3-4 in the division, Harvard needed to win out to keep its playoff hopes alive. It did.

The Crimson closed out its season with home wins over East Stroudsburg and Queens and road triumphs over East Stroudsburg, NJIT and Sacred Heart.

Harvard’s 8-4 Hay record left it knotted with Vassar for a playoff spot, but the head-to-head tiebreaker went to Vassar, 5 games to 3.

“We have raised the bar in terms of the level of our expectations,” Keller said. “We are showing the division the level of volleyball we play at Harvard now.”

Although the Crimson did not make the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the spirits of the seniors were not dampened.

“We played a lot of very good volleyball, and challenged some very good teams like Princeton against whom we haven’t played our best volleyball in the past,” Bookman said. “It was nice to see the team come together so well and win virtually all of the games in the second half of the season. That kind of consistency will serve the team well next year and for years to come.”

The graduation of Bookman and Kowell will notably impact the team. Bookman has been a four-year starter, driving the Harvard attack with his abundant assists and leadership. Kowell has been a potent force in the middle, possessing the ability to take over a game both offensively and defensively.

However, Bookman and Kowell are leaving behind a talented team that should be able to weather their loss. The returning players were very productive this year and the team finished with a great deal of momentum, putting next year’s squad in prime position to make another run at the playoffs.

“We have now set a precedent for future success,” Bookman said. “We must build the program on success like this year to become the competitive program that all the players envision.”

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.

M. Volleyball

RECORD: 10-6 (8-4 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Hay Division)

COACH: Rob Keller

TRI-CAPTAINS: Mike Bookman, Alex Kowell, Russell Mosier

HIGHLIGHTS: Bookman breaks the Harvard records for career assists, assists in a season, assists in a match and career games played and is named an Academic All-Ivy selection. Kowell sets Crimson marks for hitting percentage in a game, aces in a game and season hitting percentage, in addition to being an Academic All-American selection.