Mid-Week Trip Disrupts Men's Volleyball's Momentum

Good things come to those who wait. At least, that’s what the Harvard men’s volleyball team is hoping after a 1-7 start to the season.

Traveling to Nashua, N.H., to face Rivier in a non-conference matchup, the error-riddled Crimson succumbed to the host Raiders in four games after falling behind early, losing 3-1 (30-19, 30-19, 28-30, 30-27) last night at the Muldoon Health and Fitness Center.

Fortunately for Harvard, the loss to the Raiders didn’t figure into its 1-1 Hay Division record. Nevertheless, the defeat still stung.

“Every team is a proud team,” co-captain John Freese said. “It’s tough to lose.”

Co-captain Seamus McKiernan and junior setter Dave Fitz, still suffering nagging injuries, took the court in games three and four.

McKiernan—who sat out last Saturday’s match against Vassar—was limited by a sore shoulder, while Fitz played for the first time this year after suffering a bone bruise to his ankle prior to the Crimson’s preseason opener.

Though the setter primarily entered the match to serve—with libero Laurence Favrot replacing him immediately afterwards—he insisted that his injury had improved significantly.

“I half practiced yesterday, did some jump setting, and I felt pretty good,” Fitz said. “I’ll be full strength by next week.”

But the return of two of its experienced veterans was not enough for Harvard.

As has been the pattern all season, errors restricted the Crimson’s attack efficiency early in the match and prevented the offense from establishing a rhythm.

“We just broke down as a team,” Fitz said. “Everyone made a mistake or two.”

In the first and second frames, Harvard and the Raiders (11-3) traded points, with neither team establishing a large cushion. With sophomore Brian Rapp setting, the Crimson showed flashes of brilliance but countered with several costly mistakes.

With the score tied at 15, Rivier went on a 9-2 run. Facing a significant deficit, Harvard could not make a comeback and succumbed, 30-19.

Game two was almost a replica of the first frame, with the score following a similar pattern and the Crimson falling by the same tally.

“In both of the first games, [the Raiders] got a few quick points,” Freese said. “Things went their way—serves that would just hit the net and just fall in, things like that.”

“We let it get us down,” he added. “But it’s something mentally that we can’t let happen to us.”

In the third and fourth frames, with Fitz and McKiernan taking their turns in the rotation, Harvard reduced its number of errors and started playing better defense.

Preventing Rivier from taking several points in a row, the Crimson was able to open up a small margin and scrape its way to a 30-28 victory.

“In game three, we never let them take that big run,” Fitz said. “We got the two-point lead, and we never gave it up.”

Harvard maintained its level of play in the fourth frame as well, but the Raiders managed to pick up the necessary points to close out the Crimson, 30-27.

But given that Rivier was a non-conference opponent, the Harvard players kept the loss in perspective.

“It’s never fun to lose,” Freese said, “but if we were going to lose one, this was the one to lose.”

The Crimson will next travel to Beverly, Mass., on Wednesday to face Endicott. The game will start at 7 p.m.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.