The Harvard men's volleyball team did what it had to do down the stretch Saturday to secure an expected second straight New England Championship at Springfield.

The Crimson overwhelmed Boston College in the final contest, 2-0, but had to battle adversity and unfriendly spectators in the semis when the spikers met Springfield for the third time this season.

The spikers, looking to blank the hosts again, were faced with a more inspired Springfield team than they had seen earlier. "They had a very vocal crowd," explained senior Captain Brad Martin, who added that the game marked the "first time they really came out to beat us."

So, backed with more ammunition than ever before, Springfield jumped to a 7-1 first-game lead. The spikers, however, were able to put their game together as they rallied to a close 15-12 triumph. Sophomore Jon Ross, who was later voted the tourney's most valuable player, and junior David Twite led the spikers with intimidating spiking.

Springfield turned the tables in the second game, overcoming a quick 6-0 Crimson lead en route to a dramatic 15-12 win. The game was marred for Harvard by a loss of concentration. "We let up a little bit," recounted Martin, "losing the intensity" necessary to dominate the match.

The spikers fell behind again in the third and deciding game. 7-2, before forging back, eventually forcing a 13-13 deadlock and taking the final stanza, 15-13.

The Crimson then won the final in convincing fashion. Twite continued his brilliance, paving the way to a 15-5 first game triumph and a 12-5 second-game lead. Martin praised the junior for what he called a "solid as rock" performance. "Everytime we were in trouble we went to him and he came through for us," he said.

But playing matches all day long finally took its toll on the spikers as B.C. fought to tie the game 12-12 before Harvard forced a 15-13 end to the contest and the tournament.

Earlier Saturday, the Crimson had reached the semis thanks to 2-0 victories over B.C. and Williams and mediocre 1-1 ties against B.U. and Bryant College in the round-robin preliminaries.

The spikers played again without the services of senior Mark Chang, who is suffering from tendinitis in both knees and may miss the NCAA Regionals next weekend at Harvard.