UConn Rolls Through Spikers

Losing is always disappointing. But it's even more frustrating when you lose knowing that you're the better team.

The Harvard women's volleyball team (15-9 overall, 3-4 Ivy) experienced that feeling Tuesday against University of Conneciticut. The spikers closed out their regular season by dropping a disappointing 15-9, 15-5, 16-14 decision to the host Huskies at Storrs, Conn.

"Everybody seemed kind of flat," Co-Captain Jodi Cassell said. "We should have beaten them. It was kind of disappointing arriving 20 minutes before the game started."

The late arrival prevented the Crimson from getting enough time for pre-game warm-ups. Although Harvard played a good opening set, the lack of an adequate warm-up showed in the second set.

"We had a lot of problems with our serves," Susie Nemes said. "We didn't play our game. We have to get ready for the Ivy tournament."

The spikers controlled the beginning of the first game with short sets and fine net play. Harvard had a 9-4 lead before it hit a rut

Led by the kills of Allyson Wills, the Huskies rallied to tie the match at nine. After several bad calls and serves, UConn captured the next six points to win the first set.

In the second set, the Huskies dominated the game, jumping out to a 7-3 advantage. But UConn captured the next eight out of 10 points to win the game.

Harvard finally played closer to its potential, matching the Huskies point for point in the third set.

Deadlock

The spikers and UConn traded several side-outs and kills, in reaching a 10-10 deadlock. UConn, however, proved just a little tougher at home, capturing the set, 16-14.

"We were stale," Harvard Coach Wayne Lem said. "Our defense failed to cover UConn hits. We had seven misserves in the first set. We were leading 9-4, but we blew the set with bad serves."

"You can't beat a team like UConn with bad serves," Lem added. "We don't have any excuses. We just didn't play up to our potential."

Look Out, Cornell

Even though the Crimson lost the match to UConn, this has been the best season in Harvard volleyball history.

"I'm very happy with our overall record," Lem said. "We went from a 5-16 record to a 15-9 record. I think the team is looking forward to the Ivies."

The Crimson will face the Big Red in the first round of the Ivy League tournament to be held this weekend at Barnard College.

"I'm very happy to be playing Cornell," Cassell said. "I think we should have beaten them last year and early this year. If we play like we did against Penn and Brown--we should beat them in three straight."

Not Disappointing

After posting a disappointing 5-16 mark last season, the spikers tripled its win production of last season. Harvard's 15 victories are the most since volleyball became a varsity sport in 1981.

"We are really looking forward to playing Cornell," Nemes said. "We have to be hungry to do well in the Ivy tournament."

"We're all psyched about playing Cornell," Co-Captain Maia Forman said. "We all want to beat them. We know that we're the better team."