UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fifth-seeded Harvard Men's Volleyball suffered a tough five-set loss to fourth-seeded George Mason on Wednesday night in the first round of the EIVA Tournament. The Crimson took the first and fourth sets, but ultimately fell to the Patriots, 25-22, 14-25, 12-25, 25-21, 12-15.

How it Happened

• Harvard (9-16) trailed early to open the match, facing 5-1 and 8-3 deficits, before scoring three straight points to get back into the set. After pulling to within 12-11, the Crimson allowed four unanswered GMU points to fall behind by five. Harvard, however, used a 6-0 run to take a brief 19-18 lead only to have George Mason (13-14) level the score at 19. The Crimson then closed the frame on a 6-3 spurt to secure the 25-22 decision.
• In the second set, Harvard fell behind, 3-1, but rallied to tie the score at 5-5. A 6-1 run by the Patriots opened the frame and the tournament's fourth-seeded team did not look back. George Mason finished the set by scoring the final six points to collect the 25-14 win.
• Harvard had a suboptimal start to the third set, allowing GMU to score four of the frame's first five points. The Patriots later scored five straight to take a 10-3 lead, which swelled to 21-8 en route to the 25-12 victory.
• Despite falling into a two-sets-to-one hole, Harvard regrouped in the fourth set. Both teams traded points, leading to a 15-15 tie. The Crimson, however, received single kills from Kade McGovern and Owen Fanning, and then an ace from Zach Berty to take an 18-15 lead. Harvard inched closer to forcing a fifth set when a Fanning kill put the Crimson up, 22-19. George Mason scored the next two points, but a GMU attack error and a Berty kill leveled the overall match score at 2-2.
• The fifth set saw George Mason jump out to a 4-0 lead only to see Harvard fight back to tie the score at 7-7. The Patriots answered with another 4-0 run, but the Crimson did not go away quietly. Its deficit proved to be too much, though, as Harvard could not get closer than two points the rest of the way, resulting in a 15-12 defeat and an end to its campaign. 

Harvard Highlights

• Berty finished with a career- and match-high 17 kills. The first-year also added four digs and one service ace.
• McGovern recorded eight kills, four total blocks, three digs and two assists.
• All-EIVA second-team selection Ethan Smith posted five kills, three total blocks and two digs. His five kills were matched by Fanning, who also contributed five digs, one ace and one block.
• Logan Shepherd led the team with seven digs and had seven assists. His assist total trailed James Bardin's 17 and Will Sorenson's 15.