Men's Volleyball Opens Conference play, Hosts Rutgers-Newark Saturday

Pictured: Gil Weintraub
Photo courtesy: DSPics.com

The Particulars
Harvard opens up conference play with a match against the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark
Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Malkin Athletic Center.

Last Time Out
Harvard lost to No. 9 UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, Thursday night in a non-conference matchup. Senior Erik Kuld led the Crimson with 13 kills in the loss.

In the opening set, Harvard jumped out to an early 10-5 lead before the Gouchos scored two unanswered points. The teams traded points as Harvard built a 19-14 lead. A Crimson service error sparked a 9-2 run by the Gouchos as they regained the lead at 23-21. Harvard was unable to battle back as the Gouchos came away with a 30-26 win.

The second set featured seven ties and one lead change until the Gouchos went on a 10-3 run to pull away with a 27-19 lead. Harvard was unable to get much closer as UC Santa Barbara came away with a 30-22 win.

The third and final set again saw seven ties and one lead change as the teams traded points in the beginning. The Goucho’s defense remained strong as four blocks stopped momentum from the Crimson offense. The Gouchos won the match with a 30-21 score in the final set.

Sophomore Matt Jones recorded 11 kills on the night and posted three blocks. Freshman Rob
Lothman handed out 27 assists. Kuld and Jones led the team in digs, with four each.

Scouting the Crimson
Harvard is seeking its first win of the season, having fallen in its first seven matches.

Senior Erik Kuld paces the team with 3.92 kills per set while classmate Gil Weintraub adds 3.58 kills per set. Freshman Rob Lothman is handing out 10.12 assists per set. On the defensive side,
sophomore Dan Schreff leads the Crimson with 2.16 digs per set and sophomore Nicola Ivica is registering 1.17 blocks per set.

Scouting The Scarlet Raiders
The Scarlet Raiders hold a 2-9 overall record, with a 2-0 mark in EIVA Hay division play.

Entering the match, Marcin Midura leads the team with 3.16 kills per set. Liran Shapiro is averaging 11.08 assists per set while Jeff Zoring adds 8.69 assists.

The Last Meeting
Harvard and Rutgers-Newark faced off in the final regular season match of the 2009 season, with the Scarlet Raiders coming away with a 3-0 victory.

Brady Weissbourd ’09 and Matt Jones paced the Crimson with nine kills apiece.

On the Bench
Head coach Brian Baise, a 1995 graduate of Princeton, is in his second season at Harvard. He brings an 11-15 overall record into today’s match.