Box Score


NEWARK, NJ—Harvard, ranked 15th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II national coaches poll, swept NJIT, 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-23) in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action Friday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
The Crimson, who entered the AVCA national rankings this week after upsetting perennial dominant Eastern power Penn State last week, are 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the EIVA, while NJIT is 2-10 overall and 0-3 in the EIVA.
 
Harvard featured a balanced attack, with no one in double figures, but nine kills from DJ White, eight from Branden Clemens and six from Michael Owen. Rob Lothman piled up 29 assists as the setter and the Crimson served seven aces—four from Kyle Rehkemper and three from Owen (Harvard owned a 7-0 advantage in aces). Lothman paced the visitors in digs (5), while Rehkemper was the individual blocking leader with four block assists.
 
NJIT's senior Doug Battersby generated a match-best 10 kills, while classmate Matthew Lui set 24 assists and also had a match-leading seven digs on defense. Kevin Van Oss was the top blocker for the Highlanders, with three (2 solo, 1 assisted).
 
Harvard took the competitive opening set, 25-20, behind an imposing .522 team attack percentage, as Caleb Zimmick, in the middle, and Clemens, on the outside, were both perfect, with Zimmick getting four kills in as many swings and Clemens putting down three kills in three swings.
 
The set was close early on, with NJIT leading on eight separate occasions up to 8-7. However, Harvard went ahead to stay on Zimmick's kill at 9-8 in a 10-3 run that flipped a 7-8 deficit to a 17-11 lead. The Highlanders later pulled within four at 17-21, but couldn't get closer.
 
Harvard dominated the second set, dropping the first point, but then scoring seven of the next eight for a 7-2 lead that never got smaller than two points (9-7) on the way to a 25-14 victory. NJIT was its own worst enemy in the set, as Highlander errors accounted for 18 of Harvard's 25 points. Five of the NJIT errors were on serve reception, as Rehkemper served three aces in the set for the visitors, followed by two for Owen.
 
The final set of the night was the closest, as Harvard fought off an NJIT comeback for the two-point win. Harvard held a pair of five-point leads in the first half of the set, the last at 14-9, but NJIT fought back and closed to within two points of the lead six times until 18-20.
 
 The Crimson appeared to give themselves some breathing room at 23-19, but the Highlanders ran off four consecutive points on one kill each for Battersby and Brad Thele, a block solo for Lui, and a Harvard attack error. However, the visitors snuffed the threat, closing out the set and match on consecutive kills by Clemens and Rehkemper. DJ White led the winners with four kills in the set, while Thele, a freshman for the Highlanders had six kills and just one error in nine attempts.
 
The Highlanders will play again Saturday night in another EIVA tilt in the Fleisher Athletic Center, as the Pioneers of Sacred Heart come to town for a 7 pm contest.