Men's Volleyball Swept in League Opener, Still Winless

The struggles of the men’s volleyball team continued over the weekend, as its winless streak extended to eight after a 3-0 loss to Rutgers-Newark at the Malkin Athletic Center on Saturday.

“The guys really want the first victory bad,” Harvard coach Brian Baise said. “We were hoping to get it tonight in our first league match, and it didn’t happen.”

The Scarlet Raiders (3-9, 3-0 EIVA Hay Division) got off to fast start against the Crimson (0-8, 0-1), jumping out to an 8-1 lead—an advantage it did not relinquish en route to winning the first set, 30-22.

The second set provided the match’s drama. After a kill by Rutgers-Newark’s Dan Mulligan to begin the frame, Harvard senior Soren Rosier responded on the next point with a kill of his own. From there, the Crimson gained momentum. Co-captain Gil Weintraub racked up three kills, and the Scarlet Raiders made nine attack and service errors, as the Crimson’s lead swelled to 17-11 midway through the set.

On a day when Harvard hit just .153, Weintraub led the team with 12 kills and a .450 hitting percentage.

“[Weintraub] clearly provided a lot of the offense,” Baise said.

Rutgers-Newark came storming back after Dane Mulligan and Jon Keller teamed up for two blocks and a pair of kills. A service ace by Mulligan capped an 11-2 run that swung the score back in Rutgers-Newark’s favor, 22-19.

Harvard and the Scarlet Raiders battled back and forth for the rest of the set. Up 25-24, Crimson sophomore Nikola Ivica sent a serve long to even the game. Moments later, another service error— this one from Weintraub—tied the score once again at 26.

Harvard had two set points, one at 29-28 and another at 30-29, but each time a Mulligan kill tied the game.

Similarly, Rutgers-Newark missed its first two opportunities to close out the set. On the first chance at 31-30, Mulligan’s serve did not clear the net, and Eduardo Hernandez made the same mistake at 32-31.

The third time was the charm for the Scarlet Raiders. Crimson co-captain Erik Kuld could not handle Mulligan’s spike, and the ball ricocheted off the senior and out of bounds to give Rutgers-Newark the set, 34-32.

“We haven’t gotten that first victory, we haven’t pulled out a lot of those games, and until we break through and do that, we get a little tight in those situations,” said Baise of the second set.

After dropping the middle frame, Harvard was blown out in the third and final set. The Scarlet Raiders got out to a 12-6 lead, forcing the Crimson to call a timeout. But even after play resumed, Rutgers-Newark expanded its lead to as many as 11 points before winning the set, 30-20.

“We tried not to let [the second set discourage us], but it’s always difficult when you’re so close,” Weintraub said.

Mulligan and Hernandez led the Scarlet Raiders in kills with 13 apiece, while Jeff Zornig contributed a team-high 41 assists.

“I thought their setter was good,” Baise said. “Their outside hitters made very few errors. They were solid all around. They have no real weaknesses.”

After Weintraub, Kuld had the second-most kills with nine, and Rob Lothman led the way with 27 assists.

“Our passing was off tonight,” Baise said. “That’s the key to the offense. If the pass isn’t there...it just makes for a long night.”

The loss dropped Harvard to 0-8. The Crimson did not win a set in all of February.

Nevertheless, Harvard remains optimistic.

“We’re still really hopeful we can turn it around,” Weintraub said. “This is only the first league match. We play all those other matches to see what works and what doesn’t work. We still have a lot of league matches ahead of us, and we look forward to them.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at tjwalsh@fas.harvard.edu.