Crimson Gains Position in Hay Division Race

The Harvard men’s volleyball team met with mixed success at this weekend’s Golden Dome Classic in Newark, N.J.

After sweeping Rutgers-Newark (4-8, 2-2 Hay) for the second time this season, 3-0, the Crimson (4-3, 3-1 Hay) couldn’t overcome non-conference opponent Mount Olive (8-4) in the teams’ first meeting, surrendering a hard-fought loss, 1-3.

Despite the loss to the Trojans, Harvard finds itself in a solid position for an EIVA playoff run. The Crimson’s victory against Rutgers puts Harvard in second place in the Hay Division, just behind Springfield, the team that gave the Crimson’s its only conference loss.

“The weekend as a whole was extremely positive,” senior outside hitter Jordan Weitzen said. “We played really well together as a team and had great energy on the court. Beating Rutgers in three was a huge win for us and the program going forward, not having to play from behind again. We kind of put ourselves back on the top of the leader board in the Hay Division.”

MOUNT OLIVE 3, HARVARD 1

Despite the Crimson’s strong individual performances, Harvard fell just short of overcoming the Trojans, yielding in a close match, 26-30, 27-30, 32-30, 22-30.

“The loss on Saturday didn’t seem to faze too many guys,” Weitzen said. “They just have a completely different style of volleyball than we’re used to playing. It was hard to adjust to it, but it was still a good match and we played really well. It was great. We’re all really excited about what this weekend brought us.”

Sophomore Erik Kuld paced the Crimson offense with a whopping 26 kills. Junior captain Brady Weissbourd notched 15 kills and reached a team-best hitting percentage of .480. Weitzen slammed down 14 kills of his own in addition to notching a team-high 11 digs.

Mount Olive proved it would be a formidable opponent early in the match, hitting .400 and recording 18 kills in the first game. The Crimson dropped the first frame, 30-26.

In the second contest, Harvard and Mount Olive were neck-and-neck throughout the game, as both teams battled to a tie 17 times and exchanged the lead seven times. But the Trojans put away for of the last five points of the game, giving the team a 30-27 win over the Crimson.

Harvard fought back in the third frame, as it forced nine errors from Mount Olive. With the game tied at 30, Weitzen smacked down a kill off of an assist from sophomore setter Gil Weintraub, giving the Crimson a one-point edge. On Harvard’s game point, the Trojans committed an attacking error, giving the Crimson a 32-30 victory.

Harvard couldn’t keep up its momentum through the fourth game, though, falling to Mount Olive, 30-22. The Crimson managed an attacking percentage of only .083 in the final contest, while the Trojans hit 14 kills.

“They were little, but they were quick, and they ran great plays,” Weitzen said. “Every free ball they had a set play that they ran, so it was different, and it was a something to adjust to. Next time we see them, we’ll be very prepared, and we’ll beat them.”

HARVARD 3, RUTGERS-NEWARK 0

The Scarlet Raiders were seeing red after the Crimson swept them, 30-28, 30-20, 30-23, for the second time this season.

“It was a tremendous step in the right direction for the team,” Weintraub said. “We knew that Rutgers was going to be a really good game, and everyone really came out to play.”

Neither team could get its hands on a decisive lead early in the first game. Coming from behind, the Crimson tied it up at 19, but the Scarlet Raiders responded with a three point run. Unwilling to yield, Harvard rallied ahead at the end of the contest, slamming down the last five points of the game to win, 30-28.

As soon as the Crimson put away its first victory, the match was won, as Harvard breezed to a cool 30-20 blowout in game two and a 30-23 victory in the third game.

Harvard dominated the second frame, posting a team hitting percentage of .500.

After nabbing an early 4-0 lead in the third game, the Crimson had no trouble with the Scarlet Raiders, as twice in the game Harvard reached leads of seven points.

Junior captain Brady Weissbourd led the Crimson with a hitting percentage of .588, as he slammed down 11 kills with only one attacking error. Weissbourd also paced Harvard’s defensive efforts, jumping up for two solo blocks and six blocking assists.

“Brady especially really played out of his mind,” Weintraub said. “He almost had more blocks than kills.”

Kuld had another solid hitting performance with 11 kills, and senior Jamie Crooks followed close behind with 10 kills.

The Crimson will be back at the Malkin Athletic Center to take on Newbury on Wednesday.

—Staff writer Courtney D. Skinner can be reached at cskinner@fas.harvard.edu.