Men’s volleyball drops two matches at Harvard, falls below .500 in EIVA play

After having started just 1–8, the men’s volleyball team’s recent four-game win streak had the team (5–10, 4–5 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) hoping for a complete turnaround of their fortunes. But these hopes took a slight hit this past weekend, as the team dropped two matches against EIVA rival Harvard (6–6, 4–2).

The first match on Friday, March 4 resulted in a 3–1 win for Harvard (25–22, 25–23, 22–25, 26–24). The first set was an extremely close one; at no point did either team have more than a three-point lead. For the most part, the Tigers were ahead until Harvard took the game point from them. A three-point run gave Harvard the first set.

In the second set, the Tigers came back fighting, earning a six-point lead at 9–3 to start off the set. Harvard would continue to creep back, though, until a three-point run at 17–17 put them in the lead. The teams continued to go back and forth until Harvard ultimately took the set at a close score of 25–23.

However, Princeton would not give up the third set, as they once again started the game with a lead. Despite Harvard tying it up at 20–all, the Tigers won the third set 25–22. In the fourth set, the Tigers and the Crimson saw an unbelievably close game. Princeton maintained the lead throughout most of the game, where at one point they had a five-point lead at 16–11. But Harvard managed to tie up the set at 24–24 with a kill from outside hitter Campbell Schoenfeld, and their next two points closed out the fourth and final set for a score of 26–24.

Senior outside hitter Jerod Nelsen and sophomore outside hitter Ben Harrington led the Tigers in kills, with 17 each. Senior setter Joe Kelly managed 28 assists, and Harrington led the team with 11 digs.

The second match of the weekend on Saturday, March 5 also resulted in a 3–1 win for Harvard (22–25, 25–22, 25–9, 25–23). Despite the tough loss the day prior, the Tigers did not stop fighting; they started the first set with a 6–2 lead, managing to hold a massive lead throughout. Even though Harvard scored a six-point run late, Princeton held steady and closed out the set at 25–22. They held this momentum in the second set, as they started out with an 8–4 lead. The teams stayed extremely close until Harvard scored a five-point run, putting them ahead at 16–12. The Tigers continued to apply pressure nonetheless, keeping the score within three points until the end of the set, but Harvard managed to take the second set 25–22.

The third set was a difficult 25–9 loss for the Tigers, who couldn’t manage to shake a 19–4 run from Harvard. However, the loss did not cause Princeton to lose steam, as they came back to fight an extremely tight fourth set. During the set, neither team managed to pull ahead by more than two points, and Princeton managed to tie the game as late as 23–23. Despite the intense pushback by Princeton, Harvard managed to score the last two points to take the fourth set 25–23 as well as the match 3–1.

Harrington managed to lead the team yet again in kills for 10, and he also led with 11 digs and two aces. Kelly managed 19 assists throughout the match.

Despite suffering a tough weekend sweep, the Tigers did not give Harvard an easy win, as they demonstrated an impressive determination throughout and kept both matches neck-and-neck.

The Tigers will return to Dillon Gymnasium on Saturday, March 12 to face No. 15 Ball State at 5 p.m.

Lizzie Evanko is an Associate Sports Editor at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at eevanko@princeton.edu.