IRVINE, Calif. – Harvard men's volleyball (10-6, 3-1 EIVA) bounced back after dropping the first set to down Concordia University Irvine (6-9, 0-3 MPSF) in five sets.
How it Happened
CUI held the advantage for most of the first set, pulling out to strong leads following several early runs. With the set at 18-9 in favor of CUI, the Crimson went on its own 4-0 scoring run to try to dig into the deficit. Ultimately, the Golden Eagles were able to hold off anymore Harvard attacks to take the first set, 18-25.
Moving into the second, the Crimson got out to a hot start, scoring the first four points and going up by as much as 11-3. CUI caught fire however, bringing Crimson lead down to just two following a 6-0 scoring run. While the Golden Eagles were even able to take the lead late in the set with another short run, the Crimson prevailed and an
Ethan Smith kill ultimately clinched the set, 25-23, in favor of Harvard.
With the match all tied up, the Golden Eagles soared back in front by taking the third set, 25-18. Action remained close through the early points of the set but several small, 3-0, runs by CUI created the necessary difference. With mostly back and forth play, CUI was able to prevail to retake the advantage in the match.
The Crimson fight to keep the match alive was on full display early in the fourth as it ran out to a 5-1 lead beginning with a pair of kills from
Owen Fanning and
Logan Shepherd to open the set. While the Golden Eagles then brought it to within one, a 7-1 Crimson scoring run put the score at 12-5. The rest of the set remained relatively tight as the Crimson were able to hold onto its lead and close out the set 25-19 to force a fifth.
Harvard attacked early, first pulling away 5-1 and then later 9-3, to create a comfortable lead. Across the nine Crimson points, Harvard accumulated five kills and an ace from
James Bardin. Ultimately, the Harvard lead never faltered as a Bardin kill followed by a CUI attack error sealed the 15-9 set win and the overall Crimson match victory.
Harvard Highlights
- Owen Fanning led the Crimson in kills for the second straight match, recording 14 along with two total blocks and six digs for an all-around performance.
- Logan Shepherd joined in double figure kills, adding 11 with a .267 hitting percentage as well as a pair of aces, two block assists, and a team-high 12 digs.
- Ethan Smith narrowly missed double digit kills, adding nine for a team-high .667 hitting percentage with only one attack error on the night. The senior also led the way with six block assists.
- James Bardin provided strong play for the Crimson by contributing three kills, a team-leading 41 assists, an ace, five block assists, and nine digs.
- Harvard's 54 total team kills nearly set a new season-high, narrowly being bested by the squads 55 at Daemen.
- The Crimson defense was on full display as it matched its season-high with 50 digs and notched its third highest block total of the year with 11.
- With the win, the Crimson grow its lead in the all-time series to 10-7. It is the first Harvard win over the Golden Eagles since 2015, after dropping its most previous meeting in 2018.
Next Up
The Crimson will return home for its final non-conference battle of the year as it welcomes Dominican University of New York on Saturday, March 23 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
