Emmanuel Falls To Streaking Crimson

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Harvard’s men’s volleyball team, now would be a good time to do so.

The Crimson earned its second win in a row for the first time in the season, beating Emmanuel (26-10, 10-1 GNAC) last night at the Malkin Athletic Center. Harvard (4-12, 3-1 EIVA Hay Division) started strong in the first set and never looked back as the squad earned a 3-0 victory.

Co-captain Erik Kuld led the team with 20 kills and two service aces. Kuld was dominant on the night as he unleashed spikes from both sides of the court. The match also saw sophomore Matt Jones continue his hot streak with 14 kills for the match.

“I think we did very well tonight,” coach Brian Baise said. “We served well, we passed well, and our defense improved and that makes us just a tough team to beat.”

The start of the first set would set the tone for the match, with Harvard taking an early lead, 4-3, on a block from senior Soren Rosier. The Crimson held this lead until the score reached 12-11, but two consecutive blocks by the Saints’ Keoni Rabaino gave Emmanuel the lead for the first time since the beginning of the set.

Despite this setback, Harvard went on 12-2 run to take a commanding lead that the Saints could not overcome. Emmanuel was forced to take a timeout to regroup, but the Crimson remained dominant coming out of the break.

Rosier stepped up for Harvard when it counted and gave the squad set point. Unlike past matches, when the Crimson let early leads slip away, the team closed it out on a service error from the Saints to give the home squad the game, 30-23.

“Their team was making a lot of errors which was helping us out,” Kuld said. “But we’ve also become a bit better at closing out sets that we should win.”

Winning the first set pumped up Harvard’s energy going into the second.

The Crimson took the first three points of the second set with two massive kills from Jones. Up 11-7, Kuld stepped up to the service line and smacked the ball for an ace to extend the team’s lead to five.

Harvard maintained this five-point lead up until 24-19 after a block from Jones followed by a kill and an ace from Kuld. Emmanuel coach Chris Wright called a timeout, but just like the first set, the Crimson held strong.

With the home team within two points of taking the set, Jones spiked a ball just inside the back line to give Harvard set point, and a tip by Kuld won the set, 30-27, to earn the Crimson a commanding a two-set lead.

“Over the last four or five matches, we’ve been coming together more and playing with more confidence,” Baise said. “I think the team has matured a little bit and gotten more comfortable with each other.”

The momentum swung back and forth at the beginning of the third set, but Kuld made sure Harvard stayed in front with one of his biggest kills of the night.

On the very next point, the Crimson had luck on its side, as Rosier’s serve clipped the top of the net and landed low in the opponent’s court for an ace to give Harvard a three-point lead and some breathing room.

Again, Kuld and Jones stepped up, sparking a 14-6 run with a tip and a block for the senior and a kill from the sophomore. On match point, the Saints’ Thomas McCaffrey spiked the ball on what looked to be a sure winner, but freshman Rob Lothman was there for the block to take the final set, 30-23, giving the Crimson its second win a row.

Despite struggles at the beginning of the season, Harvard is improving with three wins in the past four matches. The Crimson looks to extend this winning streak at Newbury on Saturday.

“It feels wonderful to get the second win,” Baise said. “We waited a long time. Tonight was an indicator of the improvements we’ve made. I think it’s clear we are making some progress.”