When the Harvard women's volleyball team (2-6) takes to the court today, it hopes to put the Harvard in Harvard Classic.

"It's great to be home," sophomore middle hitter Katherine Hart said. "You always have an advantage on your home court."

Harvard would like to use that advantage to add some numbers to the win column and will play Pittsburgh, Manhattan and St. John's in the round-robin tournament at the Malkin Athletic Center.

The Crimson is returning to the court after a week that included five straight losses. Four of those matches were tough defeats at the Spaulding Invitational at St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif., and the fifth was a straight-game home loss to Massachusetts.

The four losses in California might not accurately reflect how successful the weekend was for the Crimson.

Two five-game losses at the hands of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and Cal State-Fullerton, perennially strong teams, were small victories for Harvard.

"We tested the limits of our abilities," Hart said. "We surprised ourselves and the teams out there."

Tuesday's loss to UMass came at a time when the Crimson was recovering from the long weekend trip.

For the Harvard Classic, the team has been doing more than work on the x's and o's.

"We are mostly working on our mental game and doing the things we know how to do," junior outside hitter Linda Jellison said.

If the players are in control of their mental games, the team can look forward to a successful weekend, according to Hart.

"I think we're going to relax and have some fun," she said.

"If we play like we did last weekend, I think a win is in the cards for us."