But can they frustrate Cornell?

"I think so," said Smith. "We have a new, better blocking lineup than we had for most of the season. Cornell hasn't seen us like this."

The other piece is the will, the fire, to take out the heavily favored Big Red.

"Beating Cornell would make our year, our lives," Smith said. "We're looking to win one, just one, and we can do it."

Cornell, though, is a strong team, which went undefeated in Ivy play.

They have a substantial height advantage over the Crimson, and feature several consistently good hitters and an excellent setter.

In the one match between the two teams this season, Cornell won three sets to one.

"That was a tough match," Smith said. "We made mistakes we should not have made. But it was early in the season, and we've changed a lot since."

Harvard Coach Wayne Lem installed a better blocking lineup and a better offensive set.

The Lineup

The Crimson features sophomore Ngozi Ogbunamiri, senior Cathy Griffin and freshman Rachel Heit as designated blockers, sophomore Jennifer Garcia as setter, and Smith and senior Dani Cunningham as outside hitters.

"We are still short, in comparison [to Cornell]," Smith said. "But hopefully, these new changes will be what we need."

What they need, this weekend, is that elusive upset win.