FAIRFIELD, CT – Harvard men's volleyball (1-2, 0-0 EIVA) picked up their first win of the season tonight by dropping Sacred Heart (0-6, 0-0 NEC) in five sets, 3-2. 
 
The Crimson began its night by pulling out to an early 4-1 lead.  Momentum continued for the squad as Sacred Heart was forced to call a timeout following an attack error that gave the Crimson its biggest lead of the day so far at 8-3.  While the Pioneers had several attempted comebacks, Harvard was able to keep their distance to take the first set.  A pair of kills from Zach Berty and Logan Shephard aided a 3-0 scoring run to close the opening set. 
 
Harvard opened their second set with similar strength as James Bardin hammered home a kill for the first point.  Prior to a 17-18 Pioneers advantage in the set, the Crimson had never trailed Sacred Heart in the match.  While the second set proved to be a tighter contest, the Crimson were still able to prevail to move up 2-0. 
 
The Pioneers were able to bounce back and even the match through the third and fourth sets.  In the third, the Crimson kept play tight throughout, constantly responding to Pioneer leads.  Ultimately, with the set tied at 23-23, the Crimson were bested in the final two points, moving the match score to 2-1.  In the following set, although Harvard held a 13-12 advantage, a short run by Sacred Heart provided enough distance to be victorious to not let Harvard back in and force a fifth set. 

Reverting to its first two sets success, the Crimson were able to pull away in the fifth to secure its first win of 2024.  With a 10-8 lead, Harvard went on a 5-1 scoring run to close the match, aided by kills from Owen Fanning and Ethan Smith.  The Crimson cruised to fifth set win with seven kills, two aces and a 40% hitting percentage. 

Harvard Highlights

• Owen Fanning (14), Shepherd (10), and Ethan Smith (10) all contributed double digit kills to the Crimson 47 total on the night.
• Fanning posted a team-high 14 kills against the Pioneers.  The junior had a strong all around match as he added eight digs, three assists, two aces, and two total blocks. 
• Along with Shepherd's 10 kills and 26.1% hitting percentage, he added a team-high 10 digs as well as an ace and two total blocks. 
• Smith's 10 kills came with a 56.3% hitting percentage following only one error on 16 total attacks.  The senior added a team-best in both aces and blocks with three and 2.5, respectively. 
• James Bardin joined Shepherd in leading the squad in digs with 10 while also registering 36 assists and two aces. 
• As a team the Crimson posted season-highs in kills (47), assists (44), aces (11), digs (48), and total blocks (9). 
• The Crimson 11 team aces is the most in a single match since February 2, 2022, against Purdue-Fort Wayne. 

Next Up

The Crimson will play on its home court for the first time in 2024 as it welcomes Grand Canyon and UC-Santa Barbara to Cambridge, Mass. for the 2024 Harvard Invitational.