Harvard men’s volleyball will face 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 secured the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament after finishing the regular season with a 9-14 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the EIVA. Harvard enters the postseason on a four-game losing streak, having dropped its final matches to No. 19 Princeton and NJIT.
Harvard, a one-time EIVA Tournament champion in 2018, is looking to return to its winning ways. The Crimson’s only victory in its last three tournament appearances came against NJIT last season.
This season, Harvard is 1-1 against Penn State. The Crimson snapped the Nittany Lions’ 38-match win streak in EIVA play by winning the first match of the season series, marking just the fourth victory over Penn State in program history and the first since 2018.
Four Harvard student-athletes received All-EIVA end-of-season honors this week. James Bardin and Logan Shepherd earned second-team honors, while Zach Berty and Owen Woolbert were named honorable mention.
Shepherd and Berty both average over two kills per set, with Shepherd totaling 160 kills and Berty contributing 149. Berty’s hitting percentage of .256 ranks tenth in the EIVA. Shepherd has also been a defensive standout, averaging 1.68 digs per set and contributing 29 total blocks.
Bardin, who earned his first career EIVA honor, recorded 643 assists, 23 aces, 95 digs, and 35 blocks this season. Woolbert, also a first-time honoree, finished the regular season with 106 kills and a .344 hitting percentage, along with 55 blocks.
As a team, Harvard ranks first in aces and second in digs, averaging 1.42 aces and 8.04 digs per set.
Next Up
The winner of Wednesday’s match will advance to face No. 2 NJIT in the semifinals on Thursday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. ET in Princeton, NJ.
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