All good M.I.T students learn to trust probability charts.

And against Harvard last night, the M.I.T. women's volleyball team proved that those charts are usually right, even in the supposedly unpredictable world of sport.

The Engineers, holders of a 9-2 record and the favorite, easily handled the visiting Crimson spikers, who came into the night with a 4-7 slate. M.I.T. took a 3-1 decision at Dupont Cage despite playing what Engineer Coach Karen Altman considered "pretty lethargic" volleyball.

Harvard fell behind from the start, allowing M.I.T. to build a 9-4 lead in the first game. The Crimson showed some life, tying the score at nine, but the M.I.T. six calmly reassumed control and took a 15-9 decision.

The second game was nearly a duplicate of the first. After the visitors built an early lead, the squads tied at nine, and M.I.T. won by the familiar 15-9 score.

The young Crimson spikers rallied in the third game, coming back from an 11-2 deficit to win 15-13.

As it turned out, though, that comeback merely delayed the inevitable, as the Engineers closed out the match with a 15-8 victory.