Losing big games is a frustrating experience.

Just ask the Harvard men's volleyball squad, which fell 3-2 on Wednesday night's match at Springfield. Harvard  2 Springfield  3

The Crimson seemed to be sleeping in its first match--Springfield dominated 15-2. However, Harvard woke up and took charge to win the second match 15-4 and the third 15-7

"We really killed them in the second and third matches--I think that we convincingly beat them," Ben Taxy said.

But Springfield wasn't convinced just yet.

Springfield abruptly halted the Crimson's momentum to sweep the fourth match 15-6 and the fifth round 15-11.

What went wrong for the Crimson?

Well, Harvard was struck by lightning before the match even started--setter Evan Beachy was absent from action because of family matters.

Luckily, Abbas Hyderi showed up to fill Beachy's shoes. However, the situation was still a shaky one.

"It was a very hard adjustment for us--especially since the setter is a team's foundation. Everyone is used to having [Beachy] in the position," Hyderi said.

The tentative arrangement definitely took its toll on the Crimson's play--especially its passing. Harvard's passing inconsistency explains its erratic performance.

"Our passing was really on in the second and third matches--so we won," Hyderi said. "In the first, fourth and fifth matches, we didn't pass well--so they jumped all over us. It was a very frustrating match."

But it was Springfield's overpowering serves that finally broke the Crimson's back.

Notably, springfield boasts one of the nation's premier servers. Springfield's Javier managed to run eight consecutive points on Harvard in the fourth game--five of his serves were aces.

"Javier's serving definitely put us on the defensive. He may have affected our passing," Hyderi said.