Second Victory Eludes Crimson

The Harvard men’s volleyball team looked to continue the momentum it gained from the first win of the season last Saturday, but the Crimson had its hopes dashed by the Springfield Pride.

Despite a close first set, Harvard (1-10) suffered a 3-0 loss to Springfield (12-6) last night at the Malkin Athletic Center. The team had leads early in each of the three games, but could not take advantage of them, giving the win to the Pride.

“We just made too many unforced errors through the match,” coach Brian Baise said. “We couldn’t stop Springfield tonight and they just kept running over us over and over again. And when you play a team that does that, you can’t give them any unforced errors.”

The first game was all about Crimson sophomore Matt Jones. Jones, who had 14 kills in the match, started the set with two kills in a row to give Harvard a 6-2 lead. The Crimson was able to hold that advantage for most of the first set, setting up Jones for the kill on the outside time after time. The momentum from Harvard’s attack forced Springfield to take a timeout and regroup.

Coming out of the break, though, the Pride went on a 6-2 run to take a two-point lead. But Jones ended the run with another kill to bring the Crimson within one point. It was a tense set at the end as each team traded points, but Springfield ended up too strong for Harvard.

Tied at 35, the Crimson made a crucial error. Thinking the ball was going out of bounds, the team’s passers watched as the ball landed on the line to give the Pride set point. Springfield took the first set, 37-35, when sophomore Nikola Ivica hit the ball out of bounds.

“We made a couple of messy mistakes in that first set,” co-captain Erik Kuld said. “We know it’s something we need to improve, and that’s something we’re working on as a team.”

Harvard was all out of sorts in the second set, demoralized from the close first-set loss. The Pride did not look back as it surged to an 11-7 lead, and freshman Greg Falcone sent a message to the Crimson with a fierce kill on the first point. Springfield extended the lead to 18-14, forcing Harvard to take a timeout.

The Pride continued its momentum, coming out with a 5-2 run to move even closer to a two-set advantage. Springfield’s domination in the second set showed when one of its players dove to save a ball and the team managed to save the point. The Pride ended the Crimson’s misery in the second set when a Springfield spike deflected off of Harvard out of bounds, giving the visiting team the second set, 30-18.

“I think the first set was one of those we needed to win to give us extra confidence in the match,” Kuld said. “We were close, but we just needed to close it out.”

Yet, the Crimson battled back in the third set, going on an 8-4 run with the help of a kill from Kuld. Harvard held the lead temporarily, but the team lost momentum when it miscommunicated on a play. Co-captain Gil Weintraub set the ball for a spike, but nobody was there to hit it, as the players watched the ball fall to the ground.

The Crimson fell behind 19-22, but was able to bring the set within one point with two Kuld kills. But junior Alberto Bravo of the Pride responded with a kill of his own to steal the momentum back. Facing a 21-25 deficit, Harvad was forced to take a timeout, but tied up the score by winning the next four points out of the break.

In the end, Springfield proved to be too strong, as senior AJ Nally ended the match with a kill that deflected off of freshman Derek Jansma.

The Crimson looks to rebound from this defeat and gain its second win of the season as it travels to Rivier next Wednesday. Despite the loss, the team remains hopeful that it can recover and regain its momentum.

“I think the new lineup we’re working with has its advantages and disadvantages,” Baise said. “I think we’re going to stick with it for now and keep trying some things to win.”