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February 17, 2009

Weissbourd’s Career Day Sparks Harvard Over Newbury

Weissbourd's Career Day Sparks Harvard Over Newbury, 3-2

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior Brady Weissbourd tallied 34 kills as the Harvard men's volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 win over Newbury after the Crimson nearly squandered an early 2-0 lead before taking the fifth and deciding game Tuesday night at the Malkin Athletic Center. Harvard ended the Nighthawks' 14-match winning streak and broke a two-match losing streak in the process.

Harvard looked to be rolling to a win after taking the first two games, 30-28 and 30-23, but the Nighthawks responded with wins in games three and four, 30-24 and 30-25. The Crimson buckled down and took the fifth game, 15-12, to run its record to 3-4 on the season. Newbury fell to 16-2 and lost for the first time since Jan. 18.

Harvard hit a season-high .333 for the evening and overcame 20 service errors, but it was Weissbourd who stole the show at the MAC. He totaled 34 kills on 61 attacks on a .459 attack clip, three service aces and five blocks for 40.0 points, easily breaking his previous career highs of 21 kills, 28 points and 42 attacks set Jan. 27 in the season opener at Springfield. Harvard finished with 78 kills, a season high for the Crimson. Freshman Matt Jones and junior Erik Kuld contributed to the offense with 18 and 16 kills, respectively, while junior Gil Weintraub also set a career high with 67 assists, breaking his previous mark of 63 against Stevens Jan. 31.

Newbury built a 4-2 lead to open the first game but the Crimson got the lead to 6-4 thanks in part to a Weissbourd kill and service ace. The Nighthawks were able to get to within one at 8-7, but a Jones kill put Harvard up, 14-10. The teams then traded points on seven straight kills before kills by Mark Thomas got Newbury to within one at 18-17 and then again at 19-18. Kuld slammed home a kill to make it 23-20, forcing Newbury to call a timeout. Harvard twice built a five-point lead before the Nighthawks again called a timeout at 28-25. Newbury got to within one twice after that, but Weissbourd sent home another kill for the 30-28 win.

Harvard built a 4-1 lead to begin game two that the Crimson would not relinquish the rest of the game. Weintraub and sophomore Shaun Mansour combined to block a Bryan McDermand attack to push the lead to 9-5, and then two straight aces by Weintraub to the lead to 12-7. A Kuld service ace gave the Crimson a 15-8 lead, forcing Newbury to call a timeout. Jones got the lead to nine on a kill to make it 17-9, but the Nighthawks would chip the lead down to four at 21-17 after two straight service aces. An attack error got the Nighthawks to within four again at 24-20, but a kill by sophomore Lubomir Malo got the lead up to six at 28-22, forcing a Newbury timeout. Jones would provide the finishing block to give Harvard the win at 30-23.

Harvard again built a 4-1 lead in game three, but a McDermand kill gave Newbury the lead at 7-6. Back-to-back kills by Kuld got the Crimson the lead back at 10-9, but four straight points by the Nighthawks gave them the lead right back. A Weissbourd block tied it at 14-14 and then kills by the senior tied it at 15-all and 16-all. Harvard called a timeout after Newbury won the next four points, but from there the Crimson would get no closer than three at 24-21 before Newbury won the game, 30-24.

Neither team could build more than a two-point lead to begin game four, with the Crimson up early at 3-2 before finding themselves down 4-3. An attack error by Newbury tied it at 7-all, but a 6-2 run by the Nighthawks forced a Harvard timeout at 13-9. The Crimson would battle back to get it to one at 18-17 on a Weissbourd kill, but after the senior tied it at 20-20 with another one, the Nighthawks would win the next three points for a 23-20 cushion. Harvard would get to within two four times after that, the last at 27-25, but Newbury would secure the next three points for the win.

Both teams traded points to open the all-important fifth game, but Weissbourd would have a hand in the next three points to get the Crimson up, 6-3. The teams again traded points back and forth as Harvard maintained a two- or three-point lead until a near-flawless execution of the Crimson offense on a kill by Weissbourd made it 11-7. A Jones kill pushed the Crimson closer to the win at 13-8, and when Weissbourd got it to 14-10 on his ninth kill of game five, Newbury had no choice but to call a timeout. Two straight Crimson attack errors made it 14-12, but a service error by the Nighthawks sealed the 15-12 win in game five.



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Conference News 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \| 2007-08 \| 2008-09 \| 2009-10 February 17, 2009 Weissbourd’s Career Day Sparks Harvard Over Newbury Weissbourd's Career Day Sparks Harvard Over Newbury, 3-2 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Senior Brady Weissbourd tallied 34 kills as the Harvard men's volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 win over Newbury after the Crimson nearly squandered an early 2-0 lead before taking the fifth and deciding game Tuesday night at the Malkin Athletic Center. Harvard ended the Nighthawks' 14-match winning streak and broke a two-match losing streak in the process. Harvard looked to be rolling to a win after taking the first two games, 30-28 and 30-23, but the Nighthawks responded with wins in games three and four, 30-24 and 30-25. The Crimson buckled down and took the fifth game, 15-12, to run its record to 3-4 on the season. Newbury fell to 16-2 and lost for the first time since Jan. 18. Harvard hit a season-high .333 for the evening and overcame 20 service errors, but it was Weissbourd who stole the show at the MAC. He totaled 34 kills on 61 attacks on a .459 attack clip, three service aces and five blocks for 40.0 points, easily breaking his previous career highs of 21 kills, 28 points and 42 attacks set Jan. 27 in the season opener at Springfield. Harvard finished with 78 kills, a season high for the Crimson. Freshman Matt Jones and junior Erik Kuld contributed to the offense with 18 and 16 kills, respectively, while junior Gil Weintraub also set a career high with 67 assists, breaking his previous mark of 63 against Stevens Jan. 31. Newbury built a 4-2 lead to open the first game but the Crimson got the lead to 6-4 thanks in part to a Weissbourd kill and service ace. The Nighthawks were able to get to within one at 8-7, but a Jones kill put Harvard up, 14-10. The teams then traded points on seven straight kills before kills by Mark Thomas got Newbury to within one at 18-17 and then again at 19-18. Kuld slammed home a kill to make it 23-20, forcing Newbury to call a timeout. Harvard twice built a five-point lead before the Nighthawks again called a timeout at 28-25. Newbury got to within one twice after that, but Weissbourd sent home another kill for the 30-28 win. Harvard built a 4-1 lead to begin game two that the Crimson would not relinquish the rest of the game. Weintraub and sophomore Shaun Mansour combined to block a Bryan McDermand attack to push the lead to 9-5, and then two straight aces by Weintraub to the lead to 12-7. A Kuld service ace gave the Crimson a 15-8 lead, forcing Newbury to call a timeout. Jones got the lead to nine on a kill to make it 17-9, but the Nighthawks would chip the lead down to four at 21-17 after two straight service aces. An attack error got the Nighthawks to within four again at 24-20, but a kill by sophomore Lubomir Malo got the lead up to six at 28-22, forcing a Newbury timeout. Jones would provide the finishing block to give Harvard the win at 30-23. Harvard again built a 4-1 lead in game three, but a McDermand kill gave Newbury the lead at 7-6. Back-to-back kills by Kuld got the Crimson the lead back at 10-9, but four straight points by the Nighthawks gave them the lead right back. A Weissbourd block tied it at 14-14 and then kills by the senior tied it at 15-all and 16-all. Harvard called a timeout after Newbury won the next four points, but from there the Crimson would get no closer than three at 24-21 before Newbury won the game, 30-24. Neither team could build more than a two-point lead to begin game four, with the Crimson up early at 3-2 before finding themselves down 4-3. An attack error by Newbury tied it at 7-all, but a 6-2 run by the Nighthawks forced a Harvard timeout at 13-9. The Crimson would battle back to get it to one at 18-17 on a Weissbourd kill, but after the senior tied it at 20-20 with another one, the Nighthawks would win the next three points for a 23-20 cushion. Harvard would get to within two four times after that, the last at 27-25, but Newbury would secure the next three points for the win. Both teams traded points to open the all-important fifth game, but Weissbourd would have a hand in the next three points to get the Crimson up, 6-3. The teams again traded points back and forth as Harvard maintained a two- or three-point lead until a near-flawless execution of the Crimson offense on a kill by Weissbourd made it 11-7. A Jones kill pushed the Crimson closer to the win at 13-8, and when Weissbourd got it to 14-10 on his ninth kill of game five, Newbury had no choice but to call a timeout. Two straight Crimson attack errors made it 14-12, but a service error by the Nighthawks sealed the 15-12 win in game five.