CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's volleyball will kick off its 2025 season this weekend with a pair of matches on the road against No. 4 nationally ranked University of Hawai'i.

The Crimson will start off its campaign as it travels 5,000 miles to Honolulu, O'ahu to face the Rainbow Warriors for just the third and fourth times in series history. 

What to Know

• This week will begin Harvard's 24-match season slate that includes 14 matches played on the Crimson home court inside the Malkin Athletic Center.
• Despite losing three seniors in the 2024 class, Harvard returns a core of its lineup and welcomes three first-years in Thomas Phung, Miha Okorn, and Sawyer Nichols. 
• Harvard welcomes back its top strikers in Zach Berty, Owen Fanning, and Logan Shepherd.  The trio of outside hitters combined for 619 of the Crimson 1,071 total kills.
• Additionally, the Crimson returns its top setter in James Bardin who tallied 708 total assists and 8.74 assists per set last season.  With 2,238 career assists, Bardin currently ranks sixth all-time in Harvard men's volleyball history. 
• On the defensive end of the ball, Harvard welcomes back five of its top six blockers and its top five leaders in digs. 
• Ahead of this season Fanning and Shepherd were named EIVA Players to Watch.  The duo ranked third and fourth, respectively, in blocks last season, while Shepherd also led the team with 161 total digs. 
• Harvard finished last season 12-13 overall and 3-7 in conference to earn the No. 5 in the EIVA Tournament. 
• After falling to NJIT in the final two matches of the regular season, the Crimson bounced back in the postseason, sweeping the Highlanders to advance to the EIVA Tournament semifinals.
• The Crimson will look to defeat the Rainbow Warriors for the first time in program history as it was swept in both previous meetings in 2016 and 2020. 

Next Up

Following its trip to Hawai'i, Harvard will kick off a six-match home stand beginning on Saturday, January 18 against St. Thomas Aquinas College.  First serve is set for 5:00 p.m. inside the Malkin Athletic Center and on ESPN+.