“I thought our energy level was kind of low,” Gretsch said. “We faltered off after that first set.”

NO. 8 LEWIS 3, HARVARD 2

Freshman outside hitter Erik Johnsson was serving, and the Crimson had life.

Down 14-9 in a fifth-set tiebreaker, Harvard had seemed headed for defeat. But on three match straight points, the Crimson had repelled the Flyers, closing the gap to 14-12.

When Johnsson, who had 10 kills on the night, leapt into the air, the result remained in doubt. But when the rookie landed, that contest was decided. A service error ended the marathon night and handed Loyola a 3-2 win.

It was an achievement for Harvard even to push the match to five sets. In the third set, the Flyers had launched a sustained assault, grabbing 10 of the final 11 points to claim a 25-13 frame.

The Crimson had responded by staying close in the fourth. And then, when Loyola led 23-22, Harvard had won the next three points off two kills and an attack error to force a tiebreaker.

“It’s tough when you’re playing a strong team and you know there are going to be stretches when they’re playing well,” Murphy said. “We did a pretty good job of staying with the match.”

White topped the Crimson with 11 kills, and he added 10 digs for the double-double. However, the night belonged to the Flyers’ Ryan Coenen, who racked up 23 finishes and 10 digs.

Coenan tallied nine of these kills in the first game, when Loyola ripped off a 6-0 run early in play to seize control. The final set score was 25-18.

As in the fourth game, though, Harvard answered with a frame of its own. In this case, the Crimson took control early, repelled a mid-set comeback, and earned a 25-19 win.

All night, Harvard had found a way to come back—all night, that is, until the final set.

“The only way you really know where you stand in terms of the competition is when you play the top teams,” Murphy said. “We’re encouraged by the potential we saw.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.