Harvard Comes Close, But Falls in Five Sets

The Crimson will have to wait for another day to call itself king of the Pride.

The Harvard men’s volleyball team surrendered a close match, 3-2 (30-13, 18-30, 30-26, 26-30, 8-15), to Springfield, the No. 1 team in Division III, last night at the Blake Arena.

“Springfield is a really tough team—they’re really well rounded,” junior co-captain Gil Weintraub said. “And in my three years of playing at Harvard, this is the best showing we’ve ever had at a Springfield game.”

The Crimson was unstoppable in the first contest, shooting ahead to a 10-2 lead and holding on for the win. Nailing 13 kills for a .500 attacking percentage, Harvard overpowered the Pride by a 17-point margin for a 30-13 victory.

Senior co-captain Brady Weissbourd slammed down seven kills on eight attempts and jumped up for six block assists in the opening round.

“In the first game, we played our fundamentals, and it really showed in the score,” Weintraub said.

But the tables turned in the next match, as the Crimson committed 11 errors and posted a negative hitting percentage in the second game. The Pride capitalized on four consecutive Harvard errors, nabbing an early 11-2 lead and holding on to finish out the match on top, 30-18.

In the third game, the crosstown rivals finally appeared to be on even footing, as the lead wavered back and forth between the teams.

The Crimson gained momentum after a Springfield streak of errors initiated by a kill from junior Soren Rosier, taking an 18-14 lead. Although the Pride cut the deficit to one point, 21-20, Weissbourd kills started off a 5-0 Harvard run, as the Crimson rallied for the win, 30-26.

But Springfield battled back in the fourth contest, besting the Crimson, 30-26. The Pride recorded a hitting percentage of .412 and put up 19 kills, but Harvard kept the game close. With the score tied at 24, Springfield shot ahead on a 6-2 run to force the fifth and final game.

Although the two squads remained neck-and-neck the entire night, Harvard finally yielded to break the tie. After a pair of Pride double-blocks, Springfield seized a 9-6 lead and didn’t look back, topping the Crimson, 15-8, for the game and the win.

“They used the crowd, and we kind of gave it to them [in the fifth game], but I think our team showed a lot of potential,” Weintraub said. “We have a lot to look forward to this season.”

Weissbourd led the team with 21 kills overall for a .405 hitting percentage, along with 10 block assists. Freshman Nikola Ivica posted nine digs and 15 kills, while junior Erik Kuld recorded eight digs and eight kills. Weintraub grounded the offense with 49 assists, and rookie Matt Jones registered seven kills and five digs.

“It’s always tough to lose your fist game of the season, but I think since it’s so early we can take a lot of positive things out of the loss,” senior Jeff Nathan said. “Last time we played Springfield...we didn’t play very well at all. They kind of handed it to us. But tonight, we played even volleyball with them the entire time. It’s a good way to start the season.”

Under the leadership of a new head coach, Brian Baise, Harvard expects to be a competitive opponent in the Hay Division in the upcoming season.

“Knowing we can compete with [Springfield] and come so close to beating them gives us a boost of confidence, so as the season goes on we know we can beat anyone we can play against,” Nathan said.

The Crimson looks for its first victory of the season against Stevens Institute at the Malkin Athletic Center this Saturday.

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