CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Men's Volleyball dropped a highly competitive match to third-ranked Penn State, 17-25, 27-29, 21-25, Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous Malkin Athletic Center crowd.

How it Happened

• Harvard (7-13; 0-6 EIVA) opened the match focused on continuing its solid play from the night before and was successful outside of a 4-0 Penn State run that turned a 4-3 deficit into a five-point hole. The Crimson twice pulled to within one, but could not find the equalizer and ultimately fell, 25-17.
• Harvard showed its mettle in the second set, staying close to the Nittany Lions (20-3; 6-0 EIVA) and never letting them break the set open. The Crimson's largest deficit was four points at 14-10 and Harvard stayed with plan, chipping away and taking a 19-18 lead. The Crimson later enjoyed a 21-19 edge and the teams traded points as the score blew past 25. Penn State prevailed in the end, taking the second frame, 29-27.
• Harvard kept coming at the Nittany Lions in the third set despite its 2-0 overall deficit. At one point, Harvard was tied or enjoyed a lead for 11 straight points, at which point the score was knotted at 13. The Crimson remained within striking distance, but five consecutive points by the visitors pushed them to a 20-16 lead. Penn State's cushion was enough as it went on to record the deciding 25-21 outcome. 

Harvard Highlights

• Zach Berty led Harvard with nine kills and two aces, while contributing five digs.
• Kade McGovern posted eight kills and a match-high nine digs.
• Ryan Hong and Ethan Smith both had four kills. Hong added three digs and Smith totaled three blocks.
• James Bardin had 25 assists to go with a match-high five blocks. He also recorded three digs.

Up Next

Harvard travels to NJIT next week for a Friday-Saturday EIVA series. Friday's match is set for a 6 p.m. ET start, while Saturday's first serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Both will stream live on AETV.