Men’s Volleyball Season Ends After Sweep by Princeton

Harvard men’s volleyball closed a disappointing, injury-riddled season at home this weekend after losing both games to fellow EIVA cellar-dweller Princeton. The losses put the Crimson (6-17, 3-9 EIVA) in a three-way tie at the bottom of the conference standings with the Tigers (7-14, 3-9) and Sacred Heart (10-15, 3-9).

Unfortunately for Harvard, all three teams are 3-3 against each other, and the tiebreakers favor the other two schools, leaving the Crimson without a date to the EIVA Tournament.

Despite the disappointing results on the court, Harvard still had a celebratory weekend as the program hosted alumni weekend and honored its two seniors, co-captains Zach Berty and Brian Thomas.

“All of my best friends, I’ve met through volleyball, and these are really friendships that last a lifetime,” said Thomas. “I learned that teammates really can feel ike brothers and feel like family, and that’s something that I’ve never experienced until this group at Harvard.”

Harvard 2, Princeton 3

The home team started hot thanks to the stellar service of junior outside Quinn Bishop. Bishop terrorized Princeton with his usual mix of powerful swings and well-placed offspeed serves that have helped him earn the third-most aces per set in the EIVA this season.

The service run almost never happened, however, as Bishop’s first serve was ruled out of bounds before being overturned after a lengthy review.

A strong touch and block at the net, combined with an efficient offense of 14 kills compared to one error, propelled the Crimson to one of its strongest sets of the season to open the match.

In the second set, the Tigers found their rhythm. Better passing helped limit Harvard’s potent block. The Crimson seemed to lose its offensive mojo as well, spurred by the speed of Princeton, leading the Tigers to dig and recover nearly every kill.

Sloppy play by Harvard aided the road team and led to a lopsided second set.

Berty, Bishop, and junior middle Owen Woolbert combined to guide the home team to a comfortable win in the third set.

Bishop logged his second ace of the match midway through the set while mixing his powerful swings and crafty offspeed shots when set. Berty tallied three of his team-high 16 kills in the set. Woolbert added four efficient kills, building on his trademark hitting percentage that ranks fourth in the EIVA, and commanded the net, touching nearly every Princeton swing.

Senior outside Owen Mellon, who led the charge for the Tigers all weekend, really showed out in the fourth set. The senior, who is one of the most efficient attackers in the EIVA, found the floor for seven of his 26 kills in the set as the visitors cruised to force a tiebreaker set.

With both sides desperately needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, tension was high in the Malkin Athletic Center for the dramatic fifth set, which lived up to the hype.

The Crimson led the dance for the first half of the final set, but everything changed with a bad break at the 9-8 mark.

Up 9-8, Berty went to the service line and ripped a serve that careened wildly off the Princeton serve receive. Unfortunately for Berty and his team, the ball made its way up into the low-hanging rafters of the MAC, ricocheting back in play as the roof is considered part of the playing field. The would-be ace stayed alive and turned into a point for the visitors that turned the tide of the set.

The set reached a 14-14 tie, and it was once again Mellon who stepped up for the Tigers, landing two kills to keep the road team’s tournament hopes alive and force a do-or-die regular season finale.

Harvard 0, Princeton 3

In the most important game of the season, the service line proved deadly for Harvard as the home team’s season ended largely due to 18 service errors compared to its one ace.

Princeton established the lead early in the first set, never letting the Crimson get comfortable. After relying heavily on Mellon in the first game, the Tigers spread attempts out more evenly in the second game, establishing senior middle Ryan Vena as a threat early.

In a weekend of what-ifs and could-have-beens, the second set on Saturday is one of the moments Harvard will most want back. The Crimson managed to get off the mat after the first set and establish itself in the second, stretching the lead to as many as five over halfway through the set.

The home team leaned heavily on its seniors to establish the lead as Berty and Thomas efficiently led the charge on offense.

“They were all gonna be looking to Zach and me for leadership and guidance,” said Thomas regarding Berty and him stepping up as leaders in the game and on the season. “That we had the most experience was definitely a lot of pressure, but super, super cool to have that kind of leadership role.”

Unfortunately, things came crashing down after the 18-13 mark for Harvard, as Princeton mounted an eight-to-two run to claim the lead at 21-20.

A kill by Berty and two by Thomas helped tie the set at 23, but another costly service error and an attack gone wide forfeited the set to the road team, forcing the Crimson to reverse-sweep to keep its season alive.

The reverse-sweep would not come, however, as the Tigers roared on a late run to put the set, match, and Harvard’s season away.

Five more service errors in the final set put a fitting bow on a sloppy day for the Crimson.

Despite the bittersweet ending, Thomas said he will recall the year fondly and left some sage advice for the returning players.

“Keep working hard and enjoy every second because it really does go by so fast,” he said. “It feels like I just showed up here, and, somehow, I’m about to graduate, which is crazy.”

Harvard will return the bulk of its lineup for the next season. Woolbert, Bishop, and setter Adrian Shevchuk, who missed the majority of EIVA play with a wrist injury, will return and slot into the senior leadership roles for the team next season.

Sophomore libero Thomas Phung and his classmate, outside hitter Sawyer Nichols, who led the team in kills, will also return next season and are expected to maintain their starting spots.

Freshman setter Kai Gan, who split time with Shevchuk before taking over full-time after Shevchuk’s injury, will return with valuable experience. Middle Oliver Doty is another youngster to watch after gaining playing time due to injuries.

The Crimson will return in the fall for scrimmages before beginning the official quest to climb the EIVA mountain for the first time since 2018 next January.

—Staff writer Reed M. Trimble can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ReedTrimble1. Follow @THCSports for all of The Crimson’s sports coverage.