M. Vball Battles, Falls to Princeton

Yesterday’s match against Princeton may not have gone in the Crimson’s favor, but it definitely felt better. Things finally seem to be coming together for the Harvard men’s volleyball team (3-4, 2-1 Hay), who battled out a 3-1 loss to the Tigers at Dillon Gym yesterday.

Princeton (7-5) jumped out to an early lead, claiming the first game, 30-21.

In an exciting second game, the Crimson took an 18-11 lead and hung on to win it, 30-21.

“In the second game, we played the best volleyball we have all season long,” said tri-captain and middle hitter Alex Kowell.

The third game proved to be the decisive one of the match. The teams were tied at 30-30 when Harvard dropped the ball—literally.

“We stopped playing for a moment and the ball dropped,” said Harvard coach Rob Keller. “Had we played through that point, we would have won that point and the match.”

Instead, the Tigers finally closed the Crimson out 35-33 and went on to take the fourth game 30-28.

Although it goes down as a loss, the general consensus of the Harvard team was that this match put the Crimson at the level it wants to be at this season.

“We’re finally starting to play volleyball,” Keller said.

He also noted that Harvard’s errors in this match dropped to 28, after posting 48 last week in a 3-1 loss to Concordia

“Things were clicking this week,” added captain and setter Mike Bookman. “We played a tough opponent, and we played really well.”

Princeton plays a division above Harvard, making the Crimson the underdog for the second consecutive week.

The close score and even closer play helped bolster Harvard’s confidence.

“It gives us something to look forward to if we can play the way we did in the second game consistently,” Kowell said.

The Crimson returns to the Malkin Athletic Center next Saturday to challenge Springfield in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.