Playing perhaps its best volleyball of the season, the Harvard women's volleyball team finished second in the Harvard Women's Inivitational Volleyball Tournament this weekend at the Malkin Athletic Center.

The Crimson (14-9 overall, 6-3 Ivy) lost to Farleigh Dickinson (32-8) in four sets, 14-16, 15-10, 16-14, 15-11, in the title match last night.

In the first set, Farleigh came out playing well and broke out to an 8-2 lead. FDU's strong middle players were giving the Crimson front line a lot of trouble. Junior Peri Wallace kept the Crimson in the first game with some incredible blocks, sometimes two or three per point. Inspired by Wallace, the Crimson came storming back and took the lead, 13-12. The flustered FDU team wound up yielding the first set to the Crimson, 16-14.

Harvard carried its new-found momentum into the second match and broke out to a 4-1 lead with the serving of Christina Smith. But FDU would not give up and came back to take the lead, 10-7. The Crimson couldn't recover despite the excellent play of sophmore Wanita Lopeter and senior co-captain Manda Schossberger.

Then in the third set, both teams came out tough, knowing that a win then would be crucial. Again, Schossberger and Lopeter kept Harvard in it. After a lot of back-and-forth play, the game was deadlocked, 13-13. But again, the front line of FDU came through with three big points to give its team to victory 16-14.

FDU seniors Cathey Pierre-Louis, Theresa Mello and Barbara Esposito constantly frustrated Schossberger and the other Harvard hitters in the fourth set. Pierre-Louis spiked the Crimson with some strong kills as her team broke out to a 7-0 lead.

Harvard played well in the tournament and finished with a 5-1 overall record, the best mark of the weekend. Harvard and FDU, along with the other five teams in the tournament-- Brown College, Yale University, Boston College, Hartford and Massachusetts--all played on Saturday to determine the seeding for yesterday's action.

The Crimson went 4-0 on Saturday and recieved a bye into the second and recieved a bye into the second round. Harvard defeated B.C., Hartford, and UMass in straight sets. In the fourth game, the Crimson edged FDU in five sets.

Yesterday, Yale beat Brown to set up a showdown with Harvard in the semifinal match. Harvard literally crushed Yale in that match 15-11, 15-2, 15-3, as the Leis discovered that the Harvard team they had beaten earlier in the season had drastically improved. FDU beat Hartford in the other semifinal game to reach the finals against Harvard.

"We are looking at this tournament as a preparation for next weekend's Ivy League Championship," said Harvard Coach Wayne Lem. "We many have to play four games again on Saturday, so playing this tournament will get us conditioned for the championship matches when it really counts."

Goodbye, Farewell

This was the last home game for the Crimson this year. And more specifically the last home game ever for seniors Manda Schossberger, Yvonne Karanas, Jennifer O'Shea and Lee Polikoff.

"This is really special for me," Lem said. "I have coached these girls for their entire four years here. They are the first class I will graduate. I have seen them mature and develop as athletes and as people, and I am very proud of all of them."