“We’re starting to become a good team,” Ridolfi said. “And [the win] gives us a little more breathing room in our conference.”

HARVARD 3, VASSAR 2

Harvard managed to eke out an emotional 3-2 (26-30, 30-25, 32-34, 30-21, 20-18) victory, winning in the closely contested fifth game of its Saturday afternoon match against division rival Vassar (3-11, 1-3).

The match was close the entire way through—filled with intense volleys, exuberant celebrations, and good deal of trash talk—keeping the Brewers’ bench standing through the entire game.

In the fifth and final frame, the Crimson started strong and clung to a small lead until Vassar closed the gap, tying the game at 13 on two sequential wide kills by Harvard.

With the match on the line, tied at 16, freshman outside hitter Brian Rapp-—who has not seen much action this season—was substituted in to serve. Given that many of the starters were not serving as well as usual, this situational tinkering by the Crimson coach proved very effective.

“We made the [substitution] with Brian, and he did a good job,” Ridolfi said.

In the final points of the frame, Harvard managed to put the game away with a solid sequence of attacks. A great play by senior outside hitter Abe Marouf followed by a monstrous kill by junior middle hitter Seamus McKiernan prevented the Brewers from avenging a 3-1 loss to the Crimson earlier this season.

McKiernan was a significant factor throughout the match, posting 26 kills and 12 digs to lead the team’s effort.

“When Seamus brings his A-game, he’s a tough guy to stop,” Ridolfi said.

To begin the match, Harvard came out somewhat sluggish—losing the opening game 30-26.

But soon enough the Crimson was back in form. In the second frame, after coming from behind initially, the team took a 13-9 lead over Vassar and never looked back en route to a 30-25 victory.

“It took us a little longer to warm-up this game,” Ramos said.

In the third game, the team began to struggle again before it rallied from a 9-4 deficit behind the play of Luke McCrone. The junior outside hitter scored three straight points to cut the Brewers’ lead to two.

Harvard eventually tied the frame at 15 and the teams traded the lead for some time before the Crimson finally gained a 31-30 advantage. But the Brewers took four of the next five points to take the game 34-32.

“They got back up and came at us,” Ridolfi said.

Harvard started off the fourth frame a little frustrated by its loss in the third game. A harsh exchange of words with the opposing team incited the referees to call offsetting point penalties to begin the game.

Nevertheless, the Crimson came out strong and built a solid lead to win the fourth frame in convincing fashion, 30-21. Both teams’ intensity set the stage for a great fifth game and, ultimately, a Harvard victory.

“You get better after a game like this,” Ridolfi said. “We’re still rolling right now.”