CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's volleyball will face off against the No. 3 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the opening round of the EIVA Tournament on Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Princeton, NJ.
What to Know
- The Crimson earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament after finishing the regular season 9-14 overall and 5-7 in the EIVA.
- Harvard enters the postseason on a four-game skid, falling to No. 19 Princeton and NJIT in the final contests of the regular season.
- Harvard is a one-time EIVA Tournament champion, winning the title in 2018 with victories over Penn State and Princeton.
- The Crimson is 1-3 in its last three tournament appearances with its sole victory coming against NJIT last season.
- Harvard is 1-1 against Penn State this season as each team recorded a sweep in the first weekend of EIVA action. By defeating the Nittany Lions in the first match, the Crimson snapped Penn State's 38-match win streak in EIVA play. Additionally, it was just the fourth victory over the Nittany Lions and the first since 2018.
- Four Crimson student-athletes received All-EIVA end-of-season honors this past week including James Bardin and Logan Shepherd on the second team and Zach Berty and Owen Woolbert receiving honorable mention nods.
- Shepherd and Berty both average over two kills per set, having accumulated 160 and 149 kills, respectively. Additionally, Berty's hitting percentage of .256 ranks tenth in the EIVA.
- Shepherd has also been a consistent presence on the defensive end, averaging 1.68 digs per set and totaling 29 total blocks.
- Bardin took home his first career EIVA honor this season while accumulating 643 assists, 23 aces, 95 digs, and 35 blocks.
- The sophomore middle blocker Woolbert also received his first career honor after finishing the regular season with 106 kills with a .344 hitting percentage and 55 blocks.
- As a team, the Crimson ranks first in aces and second in digs by averaging 1.42 and 8.04 per set, respectively.
Next Up
The winner of Wednesday's contest will face the two-seed NJIT in the semifinals on Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Princeton, NJ.
