Crimson Records Flawless Sweeps

The Harvard men’s volleyball team (6-5, 4-2 EIVA Hay) had a stunning weekend against New Haven (7-8) and Stevens (9-10), capturing two victories without the loss of a single game.

The Crimson ended its three-match losing streak last Friday with a sweeping win against the Chargers, 3-0 (30-26, 30-18, 30-23).

The following day, Harvard defeated the Ducks of Stevens, 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-27). The weekend propelled the Crimson back over .500.

“I think we are building a lot of momentum,” sophomore Gil Weintraub said. “We are building confidence. I think we are in a good place going into next weekend for more league play.”

The wins came despite the fact that senior Jordan Weitzen was out of commission due to a concussion. Weitzen was struck in the head by a ball in practice coming from an awkward angle. Freshman Dan Medina and junior Jeff Nathan both stepped up to fill in for the missing Weitzen.

“The silver lining in one of your starters going down is that you get to see that your bench players can come in and do a great job filling in for him,” senior Brian Rapp said.

Nathan nailed seven total kills for the weekend, contributing to the Crimson’s all around solid offense.

HARVARD 3, STEVENS 0

In the Saturday game against Stevens, Harvard captured its second win of the weekend. Weintraub had another impressive match, recording 43 assists. Kuld stepped it up, executing 24 kills at an attack percentage of .500. Kuld also sealed all three frames with game-winning kills.

Harvard took the lead early in the first two games. In game one, the Crimson used two Weintraub aces to jump to a 4-1 lead and never looked back on the way to a 30-25 victory.

Kuld recorded a pair of kills to close out the seesaw second game, which had been tied 28-28 after Stevens battled back from a 13-8 deficit and featured six lead changes and 18 ties.

The Ducks were aided by 11 Crimson errors in the second stanza, a match high.

In the third game, the Ducks grabbed the early lead, 4-2, but the Crimson reclaimed the lead by the middle of the game, eventually winning, 30-27. Harvard overcame 20 kills by Stevens with 14 of its own.

“This weekend was definitely important for us insofar as it let us remember how good we can be,” Rapp said.

HARVARD 3, NEW HAVEN 0

The Chargers took a quick lead in the first game, 4-3, but the Crimson remained unfazed and was able to win, 30-26. New Haven had just a .152 attack percentage in the first game, while Harvard recorded 16 kills.

Harvard pulled away in the second game jumping out in front, 5-0, and eventually winning the game by 12. The Chargers hit for zero percent, committing seven errors while earning seven kills.

The third game was equally dominant, as New Haven hit just .065 percent while the Crimson recorded 15 kills. As in the first game, Harvard jumped out in front early with a 4-1 lead on the way to a 30-23 win.

“New Haven is not very talented,” senior Jamie Crooks said. “But being a league match, and our team’s propensity to lay off in an easy game, it was potentially a problem.”

Junior captain Brady Weissbourd had 12 kills with an astonishing .750 hitting percentage.

Crooks and sophomore Erik Kuld each notched 13 kills and Weintraub tallied 38 assists.

The Crimson had no trouble dealing with the change of pace, limiting the Chargers to an attacking percentage below .100 and sealing the match in only three games.

Harvard’s solid weekend puts it in a good position moving forward.

“We have some important matches coming up,” Crooks said. “With Springfield’s loss to NYU yesterday, the league is really wide open.”