Men's Volleyball Rolls to Shutout Victory in Home Opener

The Harvard men’s volleyball team cruised to its second straight shutout win on Saturday, defeating Springfield, 3-0, in its home opener Saturday night at the Malkin Athletic Center.

Leading for most of the contest, the Crimson (3-0) withstood a late charge by the Pride (2-4) in the first set and never looked back, handily earning the victory over a Springfield squad that had recently shut out Endicott.

After falling behind 24-14, the Pride went on an 8-0 run to pull within two. But Harvard co-captain Matt Jones stepped up and put Springfield away, spiking the ball past the Pride defense to clinch the opening set.

“Matt Jones did a fantastic job tonight,” Harvard coach Brain Baise said. “We got the ball to him, and he finished the game for us. From there, we got more momentum and we kept it up.”

Jones led the team in kills with 16 on the night, hitting at a .682 clip en route to the Crimson’s third straight win to start to the season.

With a good mix of upper and underclassmen, the team has been clicking so far, riding a strong all-around performance while snapping Springfield’s two-game winning streak.

“We’ve all meshed together and found our roles,” said freshman Caleb Zimmick, who led the team with five blocks. “It’s all been working. Everybody’s opening up opportunities for everyone else and working well as a team.”

In the opening set, Harvard and Springfield played it close until the Crimson was able to pull ahead, grabbing a 12-6 lead after five straight points. Harvard kept the steady edge, riding a 6-0 streak to reach set point before the Pride’s comeback attempt.

When Springfield finally clipped the lead to two, Baise called a timeout so that the Crimson could regroup.

“We were making mistakes,” Baise said. “They kept their serves in, [and] we just had a terrible string of errors.”

But Harvard was able to come back from the timeout and immediately send it to the second set.

“When the timeout was called, we just took a second [and] took a breather,” Zimmick said. “We had to be confidant knowing we had the victory at hand.”

The second set was a little closer throughout, with the Crimson holding on to a slim lead for most of the frame. The Pride was able to get within one point at 13-12, led by John Coen’s team-leading eight kills.

Harvard then pulled ahead with a 6-1 run, running the score to 19-13 before the visitors utilized a pair of consecutive aces to claw within to within two, 19-17.

But the Crimson was able to shut the door. Playing off its strong defensive strategy, Harvard ripped off 6-2 run to seal the second set.

“We focused on blocking and defense,” Zimmick said. “We just wanted to get out to all of our blocks and close them and play really fundamentally sound defense and stay home.”

The third and final set was more of a back-and-forth affair, with Harvard initially breaking out to a 10-6 lead after a 4-4 tie.

But Springfield battled back, taking its latest lead of the night at 14-13 on the heels of an 8-3 run. Pride setter Mike Becker, who had 23 assists and three aces against the Crimson, played a key role in the lead reversal.

That was the closest the Pride would get, as Harvard immediately took back the lead and went on a game-closing 12-5 run.

Springfield threatened late, but with the score at 20-19, freshman DJ White had two straight kills, initiating a 5-0 spurt that ended the match.

The Crimson was able to sweep the Pride with its balanced attack of defense and offense, stemming from its consistent service game.

“I’m real pleased with the way we played,” Baise said. “We were sharp in just about every area. We were working on particularly playing with patience and making good decisions; we did all that tonight. Our service team was pretty good so we would tap the ball well which would allow us to settle.”

Freshmen Zimmick and White continued to provide a spark for Harvard, contributing seven and eight kills, respectively.

Sophomore Nick Madden was second on the team with 11 kills, while junior setter Rob Lothman had a solid game as well, tallying a team-leading 22 assists and six digs.

Though still early in the season, Harvard has looked tough so far in 2012, rebounding sharply from last year’s disappointing conclusion.

“We’ve got a long way to go,“ Baise said. “But to play that consistently with that balanced a game this early, it feels real good.”

—Staff writer David Mazza can be reached at damazza@college.harvard.edu.