 |  |
Harvard Makes First Playoff Appearance in Four Years at George Mason
The Particulars
The Harvard men's volleyball team will begin EIVA playoff action
Wednesday at 7 p.m., as the eighth-seeded Crimson heads to Fairfax,
Va., to take on No. 5 seed George Mason at the Field House.
2009 EIVA Playoff Schedule
April 22, First Round, 7 p.m., Campus sites
No. 7 Rutgers-Newark at No. 6 Princeton
No. 8 Harvard at No. 5 George Mason
April 25, Quarterfinals 7 p.m., Campus sites
Winner of 7/6 at No. 3 Saint Francis
Winner of 8/5 at No. 4 Springfield
April 30, Semifinals 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., Rec Hall, University
Park, Pa.
Winner of 7/6/3 vs. No. 2 Juniata
Winner of 8/5/4 at No. 1 Penn State
May 2 Championship, 7 p.m., Rec Hall, University Park,
Pa.
Winner of 7/6/3/2 vs. Winner of 8/5/4/1
Last Time Out
Rutgers-Newark hit .337 for the match as the Scarlet Raiders
defeated Harvard, 3-0, Friday in Newark for a share of the Hay
Division title. Rutgers-Newark won, 30-28, 30-25, 30-23, to clinch
the No. 7 seed in the EIVA playoffs as the teams split their two
meetings this season.
Brady Weissbourd and Matt Jones each tallied nine kills to lead
Harvard (11-7, 6-2 EIVA Hay Division), which saw its five-match win
streak snapped. The Crimson hit only .198 for the contest, its
lowest percentage in the past six matches. Weissbourd also posted a
team-high six digs, while junior Soren Rosier had four blocks.
Junior Gil Weintraub handed out 26 assists.
Last Time in the EIVA Tournament
Harvard last played in the EIVA playoffs April 23, 2005, when the
Crimson fell to No. 3 Penn State, 3-0, in the quarterfinals in
State College, Pa. Seamus McKiernan '06 led all players with 14
kills, but the Lions hit .477 as they won, 30-17, 30-23, 30-15.
Scouting the Crimson
Harvard saw its five-match win streak snapped at Rutgers-Newark,
but the Crimson has still won eight of its last 10 matches. Harvard
finished the year 3-5 on the road while sporting an 8-2 record at
home. The Crimson has won the last seven matches that have reached
the fourth set after going 2-8 in that category in 2008. After
starting off the year by winning 13 of the first 33 sets, the team
has earned the victory in 24 of the last 38 sets.
Brady Weissbourd ranks third in the EIVA and seventh in the nation
with 5.18 kills per set, as well as second in the EIVA and fourth
in the country with 0.54 service aces. Weissbourd stands
fourth in the conference and 15th in the nation with 1.35 blocks
and ranks 25th nationally with a .345 hitting percentage.
Weissbourd failed to reach double digits in kills against
Rutgers-Newark for only the third time all season and the ninth
time since the beginning of his sophomore season.
Gil Weintraub stands fourth in the league and 15th in the nation in
assists with 12.20 per set. Matt Jones ranks second on the team
with 3.06 kills per set, while Erik Kuld sits first on the team in
digs (1.58) and third in kills (2.76) as well as 18th in the
country in service aces (0.37). Jeff Nathan stands second with 1.50
digs per set, while freshman Dan Schreff has contributed 1.83 digs
in limited action.
Harvard ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 1.51 service
aces per set and 12th in winning percentage (.611). The Crimson
owns a 107-81 advantage over opponents in service aces and is
averaging the same number of blocks, 2.54 per set, as its foes.
Teams have posted 17.87 points per set against Harvard, 0.07 fewer
points per set than the Crimson.
Having a Career Day
Brady Weissbourd tied his career high with five service aces
against Sacred Heart April 11. Weissbourd, Erik Kuld and Gil
Weintraub each set their career high in digs in the March 29 match
against Sacred Heart, as Weissbourd and Kuld each had 15 and
Weintraub posted 14. Weissbourd also set a career high in blocks
with 12 against NYU March 28, after hitting a career-high .667 with
five service aces against MIT the previous match.
Reaching For That Milestone
Matt Jones knocked down his 200th recorded kill, Gil Weintraub went
over 1,500 assists and Brady Weissbourd posted his 900th career
kill against Sacred Heart April 11. Weintraub and Jeff Nathan are
six and 10 digs away, respectively, from 200 for their careers,
while Weissbourd is 11 blocks from 300.
Scouting George Mason
The Patriots (12-15, 5-7 EIVA Tait Division) have lost 10 of their
past 14 matches as the team sports a 12-15 overall record. George
Mason fell to Princeton, 3-1, but defeated NJIT, 3-0, last weekend.
The Patriots have beaten Tait Division foes NJIT and Springfield
twice and Princeton once in 2009. George Mason has won all three
meetings with Harvard.
George Mason is led offensively by Kyle Gramit, who ranks fourth in
the EIVA with 4.76 kills per set and third with 0.51 service aces.
Ryan Kwiatkowski and Brandon Joyner have split time at the setter
position, averaging 9.14 and 7.31 assists per set, respectively.
Eric Lucas paces the team and is fourth in the league with 2.84
digs per set, while Brandon McLaughlin (1.45 blocks per set), Lance
Rogers (1.32) and Erik Lanham (1.19) all rank in the top 10 in the
EIVA in blocks.
Up Next
With a win, Harvard would advance to the quarterfinals of the EIVA
playoffs Saturday at Springfield at 7 p.m.
