In addition to working on his dissertation, Wilson kept busy over the summers by coaching at various volleyball camps. It was at one of these camps that he met Harvard co-captain A. J. Lewis.

"I knew he had a great reputation as a player and a coach, so I started chatting with him about our situation at Harvard and how it would be nearly impossible to find a decent coach who could afford to work on a part-time salary," Lewis says. "It never occurred to me at that time that three weeks later he would sign a contract to be our coach."

The Difference

After 16 years of service as the leader of the men's team, Ihsan Gurdal stepped down from the helm. Gurdal led the Crimson to Ivy League Titles in 1983, 1985 and 1993 along with three East Coast Final Four appearances. He compiled a combined record of 189 victories with only 121 defeats.

"It was a hard decision for [Gurdal] to give up volleyball, but he found that he had little time to devote to administrative duties like scheduling and recruiting, and it even became burdensome to make every practice and even some practices," Lewis says.

Gurdal left Harvard to attend to his business interests, clearing the way for Wilson to take the job.

Although perhaps a stretch, the changes implemented by Coach Wilson have been dubbed revolutionary by the volleyball circle.

Wilson is also emphasizing discipline and organization, something the team might not have gotten enough of under Gurdal.

The team spends much of its time in practice concentrating on the strengths and weaknesses of the next opponent.

"Wilson does his homework and is very strategic in match situations, placing emphasis on defense, whereas Gurdal liked to see our big guns put the ball on the floor," Lewis says.

Wilson agreed with his stressing of the importance of defense.

"From what they've told me, the biggest difference in practices and match play is my emphasis on blocking and floor defense," Wilson says. "We've made a lot of improvement in those areas in a very short period of time."

And Wilson has the statistics to support this claim.

Junior co-captain Ed Pankau currently leads the nation with 2.7 blocks per game. Senior middle blocker Evan Mager is also in the top 15 with 1.64.

Junior Joe Herger tops the statistical leader board in digs per game with 3.0. Lewis has 2.9, good for second, and Paul Guilianelli is also in the top ten.