"Everyone had a strong game," Lutich said. "It was a team effort and we came out strong."

Still, the Lions nearly rallied in the third set. Coming out strong, Columbia appeared almost evenly matched with Harvard. But the Crimson demonstrated an iron will and broke down the Lions, who finally fell 15-7.

This killer instinct is something that Harvard, an extremely talented team, has been searching for all fall. Finding it may be the key to the rest of the season.

"After doing so well last season, we were tired of losing, "said Jellin. "When we're mentally on like that, there isn't a team that we can't beat."

Cornell 3, Harvard 2

Saturday's game against Columbia showed what the Crimson can do on an "on" day. Unfortunately, for a few short, yet extremely costly spans of Friday's match at Cornell, Harvard was "off."

After taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, the Crimson showed significant lapses after dropping a hard-fought third set, eventually losing the two-and-a-half-hour marathon.

The Crimson hardly foresaw such a tough match after its powerful start. Breaking free of a sluggish 5-5 tie in the first game, the Crimson pulled out the game with a six-point rally and dominated the second game with 17 kills.