Win Streak Hits Three

Not long ago, the Harvard men’s volleyball team was looking for answers. Now the Crimson is leaving its opponents scratching their heads.

With a 3-1 victory over Newbury last night—Harvard’s third win in a row—the Crimson moved to 5-12 (3-1 EIVA Hay Divison) on the season. But this overall record is not indicative of the squad’s play of late.

Including the dominant 30-20, 30-25, 27-30, 30-22 win over the Nighthawks (22-13, 8-0 NECC), it has been nearly a month since Harvard dropped more than one set.

“Any win is a good win and we’ll take it any way we can get it,” Crimson coach Brian Baise said. “It probably wasn’t our sharpest match of the last three that we’ve won, but we were pretty solid all the way around.”

Harvard certainly appeared sharp early, as it opened the match at Newbury’s Hellenic College gymnasium with a crushing first set, topping the Nighthawks by 10 points. The offense in particular exploded due to the continued stellar play of co-captain Erik Kuld.

“Erik had a big night…Anytime the game got close he was there for us,” Baise said. “[Kuld] was hitting the ball real well.”

“I’m just feeling pretty good these days,” Kuld added. “Things are working out, and I’m just grateful to be healthy.”

The senior outside hitter had his fair share of opportunities to showcase his healthy arm, racking up game highs with 27 kills on 54 attempts. Sophomore Matt Jones added 22 winners of his own to pace the Crimson offense, all of which was orchestrated by another strong setting effort from rookie Rob Lothman, who dished out 51 assists.

“We’re definitely feeling very comfortable right now,” Kuld said. “We have seven guys who are playing together a lot and know each other well.”

The strong dynamic showed, as Harvard did not miss a beat despite the absence of co-captain Gil Weintraub. The senior sat out a second-straight game with a pulled groin, but the Crimson nonetheless cruised to a second-set victory, 30-25.

Not to be embarrassed on senior night, though, conference-leading Newbury rebounded in the third. Nighthawk senior Josh Aberly notched four kills in the game, consistently evading the Harvard blockers.

“Offensively we were quite strong most of the time, but we didn’t block as well as I would have liked,” Baise said,

Indeed, Harvard still managed to keep pace throughout the set, dropping the frame by a slim 30-27 margin.

It appeared that the home team was primed to continue its rally, as Newbury raced out to an early lead in the fourth as well. But with strong defense from Kuld—who had a team-high 14 digs on the night—and freshman Derek Jansma (12 digs), the Crimson held its ground. Bolstered by a number of timely kills from Jones, Harvard closed out the match without much of a threat from the Nighthawks, sealing the final set, 30-22. With yet another solid victory, the Crimson seemed to prove that its drastic shift in results is not a fluke, but rather a sign of genuine improvement.

“It’s a testament to the seniors and to the perseverance of this team [that we’ve had a turnaround],” Baise said. “We knew we could compete with just about everyone, it’s just taken us some time to fit everything together.”

Despite starting the year 0-11, Harvard does seem to be firing on all cylinders at the opportune time. Sitting in second place in the Hay division with four conference contests remaining, the Crimson has a very good chance at a playoff spot and perhaps even a division crown. While the squad may have began the year on uncertain ground, the men’s volleyball team is now certain that it controls its own destiny.

“If we win and do our job, we’ll find ourselves in a playoff spot,” Baise said. “If we let up, it will be close. It’s up to us right now.”

And with a 3-1 record already this season against the Hay opponents ahead on the schedule, Harvard has reason to be confident.

“If we come out [ready] to play, we can play with any team in the league,” Kuld said. “We’ve shown that, so we just have to go out and do it.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.