Harvard Men's Volleyball Falls 2-0 in Penultimate Conference Weekend Against Princeton

In a gut-wrenching weekend for Harvard men’s volleyball, the Crimson (9-12, 5-5 EIVA) fell twice to Princeton (13-9, 5-1 EIVA).

After getting swept in three tight sets on Friday, Harvard made a valiant effort towards recovery in Saturday’s game — and neared victory before a brutal battle from the Tigers in the last moments of the fifth set changed the game in Princeton’s favor.

The two match-ups in Princeton, N.J. — marked by a powerful effort from both sides of the court — closed out Harvard’s second to last weekend before their conference tournament.

Harvard 0, Princeton 3

The Crimson seized an early 3-1 lead in the first set as Harvard prepared itself for the competition ahead. Still, neither team proved itself a clear leader from the get-go as the matchup persisted back-and-forth.

Harvard maintained a slight edge on the Tigers for the majority of the set until Princeton tied things up at 19 following a Crimson service error and kill that Harvard just could not fight.

The two teams continued back and forth until Princeton got two consecutive kills on the Crimson and brought the score to 22-24. While Harvard got the penultimate point of the set, Princeton delivered a final kill to take the first 23-25.

The second set was a new game for both teams. Harvard immediately came in ready for the matchup and got the first three points with strong play from senior outside hitter Owen Fanning and junior outside hitter Zach Berty.

Princeton followed Harvard’s lead with a five point run, followed by another back-and-forth as the teams tried to force each other away from the lead.

At 12-13, the Crimson had a four-point run that gave the team the lead for most of the set. Princeton proved itself as an opponent throughout, though, and didn’t let Harvard stay comfortable for long. While the Crimson held steady, the Tigers drove a kill that put them over the edge for the first time in the game at 23-24.

Berty, the outside hitter, tied up the score at 24-24 with a kill and brought the two teams into a grueling fight for the set. But while Harvard held a 29-28 lead, Princeton came back for three points — one off of a Harvard error — that gave them a 29-31 win.

Harvard took an early lead in the third set again, with a five-point run that benefited off of a series of Princeton errors to bring the score to 7-4. The Crimson kept their lead persistent for a while until the Tigers found its footing and plunged three consecutive kills onto Harvard’s side of the court, taking a 16-18 lead.

The Crimson was only able to get one more point off of the Tigers as they hit their stride and took the set — and the match — 18-25.

Harvard 2, Princeton 3

Harvard took to the court for its second game against Princeton of the weekend, fighting to get the edge on the Tigers early in the game. The Crimson was able to show its early strength with power across the court, with three kills and an early ace from sophomore Quinn Bishop — who presented his effective service game throughout the set.

Princeton didn’t let Harvard seize the lead easily. But after a service error from the Tigers that tied the score 6-6, the Crimson brought consistent energy and a series of kills to get a five-point lead and raise the score to 14-9.

Princeton eventually benefited off of a Harvard service error and got back in the groove, nearly catching.

Senior setter James Barden defined his role on the court in the first set, delivering multiple set dumps to an unsuspecting Tigers lineup.

The Crimson and the Tigers continued point for point until the set’s final moments, when Barden proved his dominance and effective timing again and placed a set dump on the Tigers’ side of the net, with no one underneath it.

Entering the second set, Harvard conceded the first point via a service error to the Tigers. Still, neither team took a clear lead throughout the set, as the score difference grew greater than two points just once.

After a battle throughout the set, the Crimson tied things up with a clean kill 24-24, but conceded the next point to the Tigers with a service error. Princeton entered the next point prepared for Harvard’s move and blocked the Crimson’s kill attempt, taking the set 24-26.

Princeton was able to seize an early lead in the third set, getting four points to Harvard’s one. But the Crimson didn’t let them hold the lead comfortably. Following a Princeton service error, sophomore middle Owen Woolbert delivered a clean ace to the Tigers, followed by an attack error from Princeton that tied the score 4-4.

While Princeton held a slight lead for the rest of the set, Harvard remained unrelenting until 20-21, when the Crimson failed to stop powerful moves on the court from the Tigers that forced Harvard to burn a timeout at 20-23.

Coming back onto the court, Princeton was prepared for another kill. While Harvard was able to sneak in an attack before the end of the set, a service error from the Crimson gave a free point to Princeton and closed the set 21-25.

The Crimson seemed to redefine their dominance in the fourth set. Coming out with a steady lead early on, Harvard had an early nine points to Princeton’s four by benefiting off of a series of flops from the Tigers.

Princeton was nearly able to catch up to the Crimson at 14-13, but Harvard decided not to concede. The Crimson forced the Tigers out of the game with a run of six points and a series of strong performances for the entire Crimson team.

Shortly after, Harvard closed the set 25-16.

The fifth and final set was nothing if not a nail-biting matchup as both teams swung for their last chance at winning the match. The Crimson was able to snatch an early lead and continue a strong rhythm, staying ahead of Princeton 7-5.

But the end was bleak for Harvard. Despite a strong fight to keep the lead at 13-10, Princeton was unrelenting. A Princeton ace tied the score at 13-13 and forced the Crimson into a timeout.

After the timeout, the Tigers would not let up, getting a match point that Harvard failed to get under and ending the set 15-13.

After a tough set of losses this past weekend, Harvard will make an effort towards recovery on Apr. 18 and 19 against New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey in a conference-determining matchup before the EIVA tournament in May.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.