"In those first two games we played really well," said Lutich. "We held down their attack as our defense was picking it up."

Unfortunately for the Crimson, Cornell broke through in the third. With Harvard pulling out to a 13-8 lead and two points within victory, the Big Red rallied back to 13-11 and tied it at 14-14. Two Harvard hitting errors let Cornell pull out, 16-14.

After tying the match at 2-2 with a 15-9 win in the fourth, Cornell took Harvard to the wire at 14-14 in the fifth, again taking the game, 16-14.

Unfortunately for Harvard, a controversial call marred a play that could have affected the game's outcome. At 14-14 in the rally-scored fifth game, Lutich hit the ball off a Cornell block and out, a play that should have resulted in a Harvard point. Yet referees called an error on the Crimson, saying that Lutich hit the ball into the net and out, leading to a crucial Cornell point.

Despite the call, Harvard players were quick to point out that the loss was no one's fault but their own.

"We came out into the third game expecting to win too easily," Jellin said. "Cornell got focused, and we just lost it."

"We haven't been on the road much, and the loud Cornell crowd kind of threw a us a monkey wrench," added Lutich. "We broke down late, looking for Hart and Denniston to pull us out when we should have played all together."

Still, what was a tough loss could possibly vault the Crimson into a late-season rebound, as evidenced in the ferocious win over Columbia.